


Strangers When We Meet

by YamBohemian12



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst, Blood and Gore, Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, Kageyama is lonely, M/M, Mild Gore, Modern Era, No Beta read we die like men, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Trans Female Character, Trans Goshiki Tsutomu, Unrequited Crush, eldritch tsukishima, eventual magic, hinata is awkward, lev/hinata bromance, more characters later - Freeform, non-binary kenma, powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 12:03:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 26
Words: 32,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21136406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YamBohemian12/pseuds/YamBohemian12
Summary: FORMERLY TITLED "SCOUTS"Adventure AU with angst and romance. I know its not typical but give it a shot?Slow BurnEntrance Exam Arc: Chapters 1-19.5First Quarter Arc: 19.5-???NEW CHAPTERS AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK!@garcia-blog-2020 on tumblr!





	1. Hinata Shoyo is a Loser

_ What? _

That word kept echoing in Hinata’s head as he lay exhausted on the floor of the arena, helpless.

“The winner of the match is Kageyama Tobio,” called the referee.

“It’s only the first round,” Hinata pleaded. “It can’t be over already!”

He looked across at the guy who had defeated him, Kageyama Tobio, impossibly talented in every area of combat. Hinata had the misfortune of being paired against him in the first round of the tournament. His last chance to prove himself was, destroyed. Every single punch, kick, and jab he suffered during the match had amounted to nothing, in the end. He lost despite his feeble efforts.

“Good fight,” 

His opponent said that before walking past him. Slowly, he picked himself off the floor, and left the arena. His friends were waiting for him outside the hall.

“You put up a good fight, Shoyo.” they cheered.

“There was nothing I could do.” Hinata cried. He was so painfully aware of it all, his smallness, his inadequacy, his weakness. He spent his entire middle school years desperately hoping to draw out something… anything that could let him shine at the most promising of opportunities: the Magnolia Tournament, a competition arranged by the top academy in the country, designed to pit graduating students’ combat abilities against each other. It was the prime stage for potential Scouts to make an impression on the elite academies throughout the country.

The trip back home was miserable for Hinata. He left the arena having gained nothing but disappointment.

“If I had gotten just one hit in…” 

The school he went to offered little in the ways of combat training. After many years without graduating Junior Scouts, the school’s administration had decided to shut down the training program. Hinata was the only one in his grade who even wanted to be a Scout. He trained on his own every day, trying to mirror the moves he saw in televised competitions. Years of training, only to be defeated so easily by someone his own age. He thought to himself, _w_ _ hat does he have that I don’t? _

Kageyama Tobio, a student with immense natural talent combined with impeccable education at one of the finest private schools in the country. There were many things he has that Hinata does not, talent, height, strength, tactical sense. Kageyama ended up winning the tournament. For all of Hinata’s envy, the great Kageyama spent his victory celebration alone, surrounded by his emptiness.

**Two weeks later…**

“Shoyo, have you decided where you’re gonna go for high school?” One of his classmates asked.

“Huh?” Hinata had been dozing off. It was the last few minutes of the last day of middle school, and his classmates have taken to checking up on their friends’ plans for after middle school.

“Oi, sleepyhead, I asked you if you know where you’re going?” his classmate again said, slightly more impatient this time.

“I think-,” he swallowed hard, “I’m going to apply to Magnolia Academy!”

He had said that last bit a little too loud. The entire class burst out laughing.

“You? At Magnolia? Yeah right?” one classmate jeered.

“You must be sleeping too much!” another girl teased.

“How’s a weak kid like you gonna get in there?” yet another chimed in.

Hinata stood up, proud, while simultaneously blushing from embarassment.

“I’m going to get into Magnolia Academy! And I will be the top student there!” he boldly stated. 

The class was silent in the wake of his statement. Nobody talked until the bell rang moments later.

As they left the school, one of his friends came up by him. 

“Hey, are you really serious about applying to Magnolia?” he asked.

“Yup!” Hinata said.

“You do know about their crazy tests, right? They even make you sign a waiver in case you,” his friend’s voice trailed off.

“Yeah, I know all about it! I will pass it, just you see!” Hinata got onto his bicycle and started riding home.

“Even if I did die,” He paused dreading what horrible fate would come about from his failures. “What’s the point in living if I can’t be a Scout?”

* * *

Hinata spent the summer leading up to the Magnolia Entrance Exams training hard. He did regular exercises, like pushups and sit-ups, every day. He continuously watched any tournament he could on television to try and absorb any new techniques he could.

Of course, nobody actually knows what happens in the entrance exams. There are rumors, of course, but most Scout Academies have a strict confidentiality clause that applicants must sign. Still, there are stray rumors here and there, and among the most pervasive rumors, one stands out more than the others. 

“Some applicants never come back.”

The thought sends shivers down Hinata’s spine.

Just as his motivation began to waver, his thoughts wandered back to the tournament where he was defeated. A searing part of him wants to make sure that he never experiences such a crushing defeat again. He picks up the pace, excitedly punching into the air.

“I can’t lose!” he chants to himself.

He really feels the burn. His abs and chest ache, he's sweating like hell, and his lungs are on fire. He stops a moment to take a drink of water.

"I wonder if Kageyama does this much training?" Hinata thought."He probably doesn't even need to! It must be nice being so damn good at everything!" 

He set his mind to start pumping his frustration into his makeshift punching bag (an over-sized bag of rice) but he was interrupted by an incessant knock on the door. 

_ knock knock knock _

Hinata absent-mindedly scratched his stomach as he walked over to the door, sweaty and shirtless from his training. He opened the door to find himself staring up at a ridiculously tall man. He tried his best to seem intimidating.

“Do you need something?” He squeaked. His voice actually squeaked like a horrible rubber duck, and embarrassment welled in his cheeks.

“Hi!” The man said, sounding more like a boy. He had an accent too, although he wasn't quite sure where he was from. “My family just moved here, from Sukov, and I just wanted to meet all the neighbors! What’s your name?” He was energetic, disarmingly so, considering his hulking stature.

“You’re so tall!” Hinata marvelled. The boy laughed.

“That’s a weird name. I guess it’ll take me a while to get used to the new country,” He joked.

“Oh! Sorry… my name is Hinata Shoyo, I’m 14, and…” he paused and inhaled deeply. “I’m gonna be a scout at Magnolia Academy!”

“Oh, me too!” the boy said.

Hinata was hit by a train just then. At least, that’s what it felt like. He was momentarily dazed.

“My name’s Lev, by the way, Lev Haiba.”

“You’re… you’re going to Magnolia too,” Hinata stuttered curiously.

“That’s the plan," he smiled excitedly. He had a warm yet cocky smile. “Anyways, I’ll see you at the exams, Hinata!”

Just as abruptly as he had thrust himself upon Hinata, he was gone. 

In an odd way, Hinata found it reassuring to know someone his age aiming for Magnolia Academy, even if it meant knowing there was competition.

His training resumed at a feverish pace.

* * *

"Now, remember to work hard," His mom lectured.

"Yes!" Hinata replied.

"Make sure to eat solid meals everyday,"

"Yes!"

"Make friends, not enemies,"

"Yes!"

"and remember, if you fail, it doesn't make me any less proud of you!" She finished.

Hinata blushed,

"Yes!"

His mother handed him the first day's sack lunch she had prepared for him. He carefully placed it in his bag before hugging her one last time.

"I promise I'll make it, mom!" he said happily.

After that, he left the house and got on his bike. He was so excited to finally be taking an actual step to becoming a Scout. Of course, he was also nervous, especially if his training had been enough. To anyone who knew him, though, the results were obvious. His previously scrawny body was just beginning to get some semblance of bulk on it. His rigorous training was having an effect on him, certainly, but would it be enough? To make matters worse, he genuinely had no idea what the entrance exams even entailed.

"Hey, Hinata!" A somewhat familiar voice boomed from behind him. He turned his head back to see, and of course, it was Lev. He was riding his own bike, and pedaled quickly to try to catch up to Hinata.

"You're heading to Magnolia right? Don't tell me you've given up?" 

"Yeah, I am. Why?" Hinata asked. He had almost completely forgotten that Lev was applying too.

"Well, I thought we could go together. It's fine if you don't want to though. Just means I'll get there faster!" He smiled that infectious smile. Lev pedaled ahead, leaving Hinata behind in a daze. Determined not to lose, even in the most trivial of matters, Hinata blazed forward, and the two engaged in an idiotic race to arrive first.

In the end, Lev arrived first. Hinata swore it was a close race— (it was not—) and Lev hopped off his bike, utterly exhausted. The two stood, amongst a crowd a many, in front of an imposing and stately edifice. Baroque architecture permeated the entirety of the building, itself only the gateway to the Academy. Massive columns guarded the entryway to the reception, where hundreds, maybe thousands of applicants were sorted into lines where attendees took their information and assigned them numbers.

"Wow," Hinata shouted "it's amazing! Look at how many people there are!"

"Are you just gonna stand around? We gotta go get our numbers and stuff."

"Oh."

The two began making their way through the crowd to the lines. 

"So, what do you think the exam's gonna be like?" Lev asked.

“I bet it'll be combat stuff! It has to be, right?" Hinata eagerly replied.

"Nah, I think it'll be focused on survival skills. Stuff like reading maps and making rope and stuff."

"No way! If it were that easy, way more people would get in! Besides, even though scouts do more than just fight, that's obviously the most important part about being a scout. I'm sure the Farlands are super dangerous and cool, so-"

"Stupid, you're up!" Lev lightly pushed Hinata up to the desk.

"Name?" The lady asked. She looked to be not that much older than the applicants. All the guys in line seemed to be whistling at her, which she just ignored. Her nameplate read "Shimizu."

"Uh, Hinata Shoyo!" He explained how to spell it to her as well.

"School?"

"Ikkei Ukai Middle School"

"Oh, that one... Alright, here's your number." She handed him a small tag with the number "677" on it. Hinata quickly affixed it to his shirt. "Numbers 500 to 749 will go to Hall Yuuki for exam orientation. Good Luck!"

Hinata smiled at the lady and waved to Lev before heading to find the hall. 

The area where they had lined up was surrounded by 6 large buildings, each of which looked to be various halls. Thankfully, they had large, clearly visible signs that appropriately labeled each hall. Hinata found Hall Yuuki with relative ease. As he entered the hall, he immediately felt the massive aura that hung around many of the applicants. They had serious expressions and carried an air about them that reminded Hinata of that man who had defeated him months ago. He looked around at the people who filled the hall. #608, brawny looking guy, has an angry look all over his face. #726, glasses, has a creepy smile that makes me think he loves torturing people, #600 has this intense look on his face like he's about to face a man who killed his family. As Hinata continued examining the examinees, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, Lev!" He exclaimed, relieved.

"Wow, look at all these people!" Lev marvelled.

"They're all so scary looking..." 

"Yeah!" Lev laughed, "These guys look like criminals to me, especially #677!"

“Which one's that?" Hinata asked, curiously. Lev laughed without answering.

"Oh, look, there's an older looking guy coming up to speak I think." Lev said, pointing at a man who appeared at the head of the room. He carried a stern yet aloof aura, it was clear he was going to be the one in charge of administering their exam. The man carefully fixed his hair before clearing his throat to get their attention. The room went eerily quiet.

"Welcome, applicants! My name is Takedu Ittetsu, and I'm going to be the one organizing and scoring the entrance exam for Group C. Please listen carefully, as I will soon be explaining the first stage of the entrance exam. First, there is a waiver being handed out now, please read it carefully and sign only if you agree to the terms. Magnolia Academy is not responsible for any injury, trauma, or loss of life caused by the failure to perform adequately in the entrance exams,” he paused,

"failure to perform adequately"


	2. Walk on the Wild Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ittetsu explains the first stage of the exam.  
Hinata and Lev ponder what the Farlands actually are.

"Alright, now that everyone has filled out the waivers, I will begin explaining what the first stage of the entrance exam will entail." Mr. Ittetsu made a variety of broad, energetic gestures with his hands as he spoke.

"So, the first stage will be focused on navigation and survival skills. You will all be transported by plane to facility operated by Magnolia Academy in a settled area of the Farlands. From there, we will travel by bus to the local Ishigimi Forest, where you will be dropped off. There will be a total of 100 maps of the area available on a first come, first serve basis. Using the maps, should you be able to procure one, applicants must find their way to the Ishigimi Research Facility. Depending on you ability, it may take anywhere from one day to several weeks. Those unable to make their way to the facility within a week will be disqualified from the exam. Once again, I remind applicants that we are not responsible for any injury or loss of life that occurs during the examination. This concludes the briefing for stage one of the Magnolia Academy entrance exams."

"Sounds intense..." Lev muttered.

Hinata gulped down hard, nervous at the thought of such an undertaking.

"Survival skills... I didn't train for anything more than combat!" Hinata bemoaned, clearly flustered.

"Don't worry, we can team up together!" Lev smiled.

"What? Isn't it supposed to be by ourselves?"

"The way he worded it, maybe. But there are 100 maps, right? There's nothing that says we can't share a map!" 

"I guess you're right." Hinata conceded.

"Still, we might have to find a third person..." Lev said.

"Why? I don't even know anyone else here."

"Well, I don't know how to read maps,..." he grinned sheepishly.

"That's a problem..." 

Hinata and Lev's brainstorming was pierced by Mr. Ittetsu announcing once more. 

"Alright. The buses for Group C are ready. If you follow me, I will now lead you to the buses that will take us to the airport." 

The swathes of applicants began forming a line that drained out of the lecture room into the hallway, steadily filing by as they followed Ittetsu to the buses. Hinata and Lev followed behind, each silently thinking to themselves how they would find someone to be their map-reader. As they exited the building, Hinata noticed another group of applicants gathered outside. From what he could see, they were engaged in a combat tournament of sorts, what was apparently their first stage of the exam. "Oh, so each group gets a different exam?" The group continued following Ittetsu. After passing through the gates which they had entered through, the buses came into view. There were five lined up in the street, each of them large and spacious enough to hold about 50 people. Applicants lined up and filled bus by bus, leaving Hinata and Lev to the last bus. Although slightly overcrowded, the two managed to get a seat by themselves. The two rested their bags on the floor and sat down, taking a deep breath in to ease the tense atmosphere that followed them since the exam briefing happened.

"We're really going to the Farlands, huh?" Hinata said, the weight of the situation starting to sink in.

"Yeah, we are! What do you think it's gonna be like?" Lev asked.

"I've heard of famous Scouts, but I never hear about what the Farlands are actually like." Hinata said.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever read anything about them either..."

"What do you think they're keeping a secret?"

"I don't know. Either way, whether it's something amazing or totally average, we're gonna be facing it together."

"Well I already know that I'll definitely pass." An intense look of focus took over Hinata's face as he uttered those words.

"Woah, Hinata, ease up. Don't get all scary on me, you'll make me freak!" Lev playfully pushed on Hinata's shoulder.

"Huh?" Hinata looked at him, confused.

"Oh, I think the buses started moving ahead." Lev pointed. 

The bus sputtered to life, and began driving ahead, taking the two boys to the gateway to the Farlands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next two chapters are probably gonna be fluff stuff with convos between lev and hinata on their way to the farlands.


	3. Metal Machine Music

"So what do you think the first stage is gonna be like?" Lev asked.

"Didn't you already ask me that?" Hinata said, puzzled, trying to remember fully.

"No, dummy, I asked you what you thought the exam was gonna be like. Not the stage!"

"What's the difference anyways?" Lev laughed.

"Well I hope it's a team thing. I don't want to have to fight you, anyway." 

The two were briefly silent after that, listening to the sound of the bus driving along. The bus was eerily silent, the aura taking a somber tone of seriousness. A question flashed in Hinata's mind.

"Say, Lev, what's your strength?" Hinata asked, curiously.

"You mean like my abilities?" Lev asked. Hinata nodded. "Well you'd be shocked to find I suck at martial arts, for all my size..."

"Wha-" Hinata did a semi-double-take in his seat.

"Poison." Lev said, He pulled some items from his bag:; an assortment of vials along with a thick pad of sticky notes. Hinata looked at the items, one obviously a variety of poisons, but he was utterly confused as to what the sticky notes were for. Lev smiled, understanding the confusion. 

"My dad is an airplane pilot..." Lev said as he peeled off one sticky note. His fingers moved in swift, calculated movements. After a while of folding and creasing, it became clear.

"I use paper airplanes to deliver my poisons. The paper is special, from home, light enough to glide, but sharp enough to easily cause paper cuts." He explained further.

"How did you learn to throw paper airplanes as a weapon?" Hinata asked.

"It wasn't easy. I had to practice a lot. In the beginning, I nicked myself a lot because the planes were hard to predict. Of course, using daggers or some stuff like that would be way easier, I know that. But airplanes are the coolest things out there. They look so cool. Anyways, I make the poisons myself. My mom is a… um, florist too, so I learned about all kinds of plants."

"Wow, Lev! You're really cool!" Hinata exclaimed, stars in his eyes.

"Pffftt." Lev laughed off Hinata's compliment, setting back into his chair for a moment. There was a bit of silence, before Lev noticed Hinata was still smiling at him. He realized.

"Oh, what do you do!" He asked.

"Hmm..." Hinata pondered. "I just kinda do whatever I can. I like fighting, martial arts, it's cool!"

"That's it?" Lev asked, tinged with incredulity.

"Well... yeah. I'm not super talented like some people out there." Hinata said, a bit of hurt easing in.

"I don't see how you could do well with just that, you're not the biggest guy around." Lev said, without even thinking.

"You fucking jerk." Hinata said, bitterly.

Lev's face sank, realizing how rude he just was. Hinata's face was painted with a mixture of anger and embarrassment, but mostly hurt. 

"I'm so sorry... Hinata-"

"I'm already aware of how weak I am. I already know that there are more talented people out there... I know that it's unlikely!" Hinata said, staring at the ground. "All I can do is roll with the punches as they hit me!" Hinata fumbled for a moment, trying to collect himself, before looking back up and staring Lev dead in the eyes, sadness and anger faded, replaced with a type of eerie seriousness, looming from his eyes. 

"I will be the best Scout there is," he said.

Lev was shocked by Hinata's conviction. For all the short time they had known each other, he had never seen Hinata so serious. At once, his perception of Hinata changed entirely, moved by his willpower. He nodded.

"I believe you, Hinata." He spoke, clearly.

"Idiot..." Hinata mumbled, returning to his normal carefree nature.

A few moments passed. The bus remained eerily quiet as Lev and Hinata chatted about various inanities. The two discovered a mutual love for animated TV shows, and talked about their favorites. There was a tense moment when Lev accidentally spoiled the ending of one for Hinata, but they worked it out. They talked about favorite restaurants, favorite foods. Hinata talked about his stuffed animal from when he was a kid, Lev talked about his pet fish. After a while, Hinata grew slightly drowsy. "I think I'm going to take a quick nap. Wake me up when we get close." Hinata sank back and closed his eyes, silently drifting asleep.

“The winner of the match is Kageyama Tobio.”

_ What? _ Hinata thought to himself, a terrified look manifesting on his face. Hinata was reliving all the emotions of that day. He was hit with a barrage of punches at once, reliving his failure. He didn't want to relive it. He didn't want to be reminded of his inadequacy. But every punch stung, ever hit reminded him of how weak he was. He didn't want this. He wanted to escape this feeling. This worthless feeling. He wasn't the same as then, he told himself as Kageyama slammed him down on the concrete. I'm not weak anymore... and yet, that he very much was. Hinata Shoyo was a loser. Hinata Shoyo IS a loser. He repeated that phrase to himself over and over again.

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

_ Hinata Shoyo is a loser. _

Suddenly he was awoken by the most hideous, ear splitting shriek he had ever heard. The bus grumbled and shook violently, every passenger expressing concern and fear through screams and gasps. Suddenly Hinata felt his stomach shift as, to nearly everyone's surprise the bus grew wings and took flight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being inactive! Block combined with busy with school plus my music career is starting to take off! I plan on continuing the series though!


	4. Kageyama Tobio Is Not a Loser

“Hey, what’s your name?” 

Kageyama Tobio shifted in his seat, turning to face the girl who had asked him the question. He did not like talking to people, mostly because they never seemed to enjoy whatever he said. He studied her for a moment. She was thin and pale, with jet-black hair cut in a sleek bowl, not terribly unlike Kageyama’s own. Kageyama hesitated for a moment, considering his options.

“Why do you want to know?” he replies, coldly. He looks at her with a suspicious gaze.

She laughs.

“You know the first phase is a team event right?” she stares at him, awaiting a response.

Kageyama freezes for a moment. Mild embarrassment floods his face.

“I did not.” he stutters, having lost his cool.

She laughs again.

“You know they announced it in the briefing before we got on the bus right?” she shifts, awaiting his response.

“I guess I must have missed it.” Kageyama says, returning to his cold demeanor.

“So anyways, are you gonna tell me your name or not?” she asks, slightly annoyed.

“Why should I?” he replies.

“You’re gonna need a teammate.” she reasons.

“How do I know you’re even worth having as a teammate?” Kageyama snaps.

She laughs again.

“My name is Tsutomi Goshiki. I’m from Yuisho Aru Academy. I like fighting a lot.” she grins.

Kageyama goes wide eyed for a moment. Yuisho Aru is one of the most prestigious martial arts academies in the country. Then he realizes.

“You’re a liar,” He says, scornfully. “Yuisho Aru doesn’t accept girls.”

“They don’t accept girls, that’s true.” she says, sounding a bit… odd.

Kageyama is bad at reading emotions. He knows this. But when he looks at her face, he can’t help but feel she’s hurt, in some way. Tsutomi turns away for a moment, apparently not wanting to continue the conversation. Kageyama feels… awkward. He doesn’t know how to proceed, and truthfully, he knows he needs to find teammates if the first phase truly is a team event. Kageyama fiddles with his hands a bit, hesitating, trying to figure out how to proceed. This girl had tried to initiate conversation with him, something he rarely experienced due to his persistent scowl.

“Kageyama Tobio,” he says. She looks back at him with an odd look of confusion on her face. “You asked what my name was.”

There’s a visible moment where she looks like she’s trying to remember something. Suddenly, her face lights up with realization.

“OH, YOU’RE THAT GUY!!” she yells, far louder than she should have. “Sorry,” she grins. “You’re the one who won the tournament earlier this year- the king of knives!” 

“Well, I actually don’t really throw knives anymore…” Kageyama corrects.

Tsutomi straightens.

“Still, you’re like, good at everything! You fight really well. Why don’t you throw knives anymore? It looked like it was your specialty.” she asks.

“We can get to that, but first, I need to know what you do,” he says. “If we’re gonna be a team.”

She shifts for a moment, uneasily.

“I’m just a fighter,” She resigns. “I don’t have any special talents or skills. Just a good fighter. I can hit hard and take hits. Simple as that,” she sinks back into her chair. “Is that okay?”

Kageyama takes a moment to consider. He was good at close combat but his particular skills were best suited to ranged combat. He needed someone good at hand to hand combat as his partner. 

“That’s perfect, actually.” Kageyama says, twiddling his thumbs a bit. “You probably know I prefer ranged attack.” 

She considers for a moment.

“If you don’t throw knives anymore, then what do you throw?” Tsutomi asks.

Kageyma reaches down for his satchel, and pulls a small box from it. He rests it on his lap while he puts his satchel back down in front of him. After a while of fumbling his fingers, he finally opens it. Inside are dozens upon dozens of small steel needles.

“I’m confused.” She admits.

“It’s kind of complicated to explain, and I can’t give away all the details,” He says “But since the tournament, I used my precision to learn how to, uh… basically throw needles.” 

“Why needles?” she asks, still confused.

“Needles are best suited for targeting small pressure points and vital points.” he continues. “Throwing knives is very tiring, and on top of that you can end up accidentally killing someone if you don’t want to.” he pauses for a moment, turning away. “With acupuncture, among other things-” he turns back to look at her. “Things that I really can’t tell you…” he continues “I can use needles to incapacitate and subdue an opponent pretty much effortlessly.”

“Isn’t that impossible? To aim that precise?” she says.

Kageyama laughs, uncharacteristically.

“If there’s one thing you should know, as a future Scout, it’s that nothing is impossible.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asks.

“You’ll find out when we pass.” Kageyama says.

“So we’re gonna be a team?”

“I don’t see why not, unless you want to find someone else.” He fumbles.”I’m not always the easiest person to be around.”

“I figured as much. I can already tell that.” she says, calmly.

“So why do you want to team up with me?” he asks.

“Because you’re strong. Duh.” she grins again, with that aloof and cheerful grin.

Kageyama sits back. He never thought the reason would be so obvious. He knew he was strong. He felt a warmth inside him that was unfamiliar. He has had teammates before, but this time feels so different, for some reason. He wasn’t sure why. Some time passes before they speak again. In this time, the bus begins to start up, moving along. Kageyama observes the shifting scenery from the window, lost in thought. He considers possible combat strategies for the two of them, should they engage in combat during the exam. It dawns on him.

“So how many people do we need for the first phase?” Kageyama asks.

“I believe it’s 3.” Tsutomi says.

“So we need one more…” he mumbles.

“Well actually, I already have someone in mind!” Tsutomi turns around, and appears to grab the person in the seat behind her. Kageyama’s eyes widen slightly, partially surprised, partially amused, partially wondering what the FUCK that hairdo is. It looks like, what? A Chicken?

“Kageyama, meet Kanji Koganegawa!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my editor is busy so I'm posting this now and then I'll edit it later.   
also my Tumblr is Moenennbys, if you want to follow me!
> 
> next chapter will probably be Team Hinata POV :D
> 
> (Also, yes, Tsutomi is trans)


	5. It's No Game, Part One

The flight ended up taking a long time. By the time Hinata and Lev had arrived at the testing location, the sky was dark with the first few slivers of nightfall. As they got off the bus, securing their bags and observing the landscape, they noticed many strange things. They were parked in a small grassy clearing, along with two other busses. It seemed that there were going to be three groups participating in this particular event. Surrounding the clearing were numerous tall trees, together comprising Ishigimi Forest. The trees were unusual, having strangely shaped pale blue leaves. On top of this, there were numerous large mushrooms of varying colors. Lev in particular looked enthralled at the prospect of investigating previously unknown flora. Crowds of applicants began to form as the busses were cleared of their inhabitants. Suddenly, Mr. Ittetsu spoke up.

“Alright applicants, you have 15 minutes to assemble a team of 3 people before the test begins.” he shouted.

Suddenly, the aura changed to that of rigor and desperation. The crowd immediately began dispersing, organizing into groups as people tried to find teams of their own. Hinata and Lev stuck together, scanning the crowds for a potential 3rd teammate. Lev was shocked by a light tapping on his back.

“Um… excuse me…” he heard a girl ask behind him, voice small and delicate. Hinata and Lev turned around to look at the person addressing them. “Do you boys have a third member?” she asked. She was petite, with golden blonde hair worn in a side-ponytail, and had brown eyes. Her features were delicate, and she had a flighty look in her eyes. Lev was unsure of how to proceed, so Hinata spoke up first.

“We actually don’t!” Hinata said, smiling.

“Oh, that’s a relief! You guys seem the least intimidating!” a look of relief flooded her face as she spoke. “I’m a medic,” she said. “Do you think I could be helpful on your team?” she looked insecure as she asked, as if she didn’t want to hear the answer.

Lev finally spoke.

“I don’t see why not! It would be helpful to have someone to treat us if we get injured.” he said.

Relief poured out of her in droves.

“Ah thank god. I’m pretty fast too so I won’t hold you guys back. My name’s Hitoka Yachi. You can call me either or, I don’t care. What’re your names?” he asked, looking to Lev first.

“I’m Hinata, Shoyo Hinata!” Hinata interrupted before Lev could answer.

“Oh, nice to meet you!” she said, looking at him for a moment. “And you?” she asked Lev once again.

“I’m Lev Haiba. I’m from Sukov.” he said.

“Wow! Is that why you’re so tall? You must be a really good fighter, I hear they have some cool fighting styles there!” she beamed.

“Well, actually, I’m not much of a fighter, that’s more Hinata. I like to use poisons, really.” Lev looked a little embarrassed as he spoke.

“Woah, Hinata’s a fighter? I thought for sure he was, like, recon! He’s so small too. That’s so cool!” she turned to Hinata. “So do you use like knives or..?”

“I like fighting fist to fist!” Hinata declared. He tried to puff out his chest to seem bigger and more epic as he said it, but he ended up just making himself cough.

Yachi laughed.

“You’re kinda cute!” she said to HInata. Hinata blushed.

“Anyways,” Hinata said, trying to change the subject. “We should use the rest of the time to come up with a strategy. I know I said I’m a fighter, but truth is, I probably can’t do that much yet. I have to have a good strategy-” Hinata paused for a moment. “Sorry, we, we have to have a good strategy.”

“I think we should try to sprint through it. If we avoid combat, we can get through the forest pretty quickly. I can use my poison to take care of anything we might come across.” Lev proposed. 

“I can take care of any injuries you guys get,” Yachi said, shifting her backpack and lightly slapping on it to illustrate its contents. “I have a lot of strong painkillers and antibiotics and stuff like that in here, plus gauze and bandages and stuff like that.”

“I guess we have a plan, then!” Hinata said. Shortly after that, a siren wailed, and Mr. Ittetsu yelled out once again.

“The first stage of the Magnolia Entrance Exam starts… Now!” He bellowed.

The various groups immediately began dashing into the woods, headed towards the direction of the Ishigimi Research Facility. Dozens of groups ran at varying speeds. It appeared most had forgotten about the maps that would be available to the first 100 applicants. They took some time to procure one, and studied it for a moment. After determining which route they would take, they began running toward the forest, taking a path slightly away from where the other applicants had charged in. As they began running in the forest, they noticed all sorts of oddities. For one, they noticed large isopod-like creatures fleeing from them as they ran. Lev resisted the urge to try and pick plants and mushrooms as they ran, it would slow them down. He began taking out his paper, and preparing some planes in case he had to use them.

“Can you guys slow down for a moment?” he asked, pulling his bag to get his poisons from it. They slowed down a bit, puzzled. He finished coating the planes with poison soon after. “Sorry, I forgot to get them ready before we started running.” 

The group resumed running. Yachi was slightly ahead of the two, but she occasionally slowed down to meet the two of them.

“So you use paper airplanes to deliver your poison?” Yachi asked, breath hard from exertion.

“Yeah.” Lev shouted.

“Isn’t that kinda hard?” She asked.

“It’s not that difficult, it took a lot of practice, though,” Lev said, pausing to get a breath in. “The paper is sharp enough that even a light graze can break skin.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” She said. The group continued to run through the woods, nimbly evading trees and following the path of least resistance. They were making good progress, Hinata thought.

“How far do you th-” Hinata was cut off by a roar. The group suddenly stopped, trying to figure out where the roar was coming from. The roar continued to echo around them.

“Where is it coming from?” Hinata asked, eyes darting around trying to discern the source.

“We should just continue ahead.” Lev reasoned.

“I don’t think it’ll let us!” Yachi said, concern in her voice, pointing in a certain direction ahead. As the two boys looked her way, their eyes widened with horror as a horrific creature emerged from the darkness, roaring territorially at them. It had terrible musculature, bulging and pulsating with every move, It vaguely resembled some sort of cat, but it’s face was horribly mangled, full of scars and missing features. Its nose was completely missing, just slits on its face, and its sockets were completely smooth over where its eyes should be. The creature roared as it bore its fangs, needle-sharp and evidently designed to shred flesh. Yachi screamed as it came closer to her. She quickly evaded backwards, in a blur of speed. 

“Lev, see if you can poison it.” Hinata called.

“Already on it.” Lev replied, producing a few planes from his pockets. He took a moment to aim, and then he threw. The paper airplanes drifted delicately yet quickly toward the ferocious cat. There were three in total making their way towards it. The creature roared, lunging at the planes with terrifying speed. It swiped at them with its paw, crushing them on the ground.

“Well that didn’t work,” Hinata said, nervously. “What now?” They continued backing away from the cat as it slowly approached. Suddenly, the cat let out a cry of pain. Lev smiled. 

“What’s happening?” Yachi asked. Lev kept on smiling. The cat continued to roar, not in aggression, but in severe pain. Suddenly the creature began crumbling downward in agony, before it went unconscious. 

“Was that you, Lev?” Hinata asked, bewildered.

“Let’s keep going ahead.” Lev grinned. The group rushed past the unconscious heap that was previously a terrifying creature. Yachi and Hinata both wondered in their heads:  _ Were the planes really sharp enough to nick it as it crumbled them? _

The two had no further time to ponder, however, as their spines tingled with fear as they heard the distant sounds of screaming teenagers. A hollow sound, not unlike bamboo wind chimes, rang throughout the forest as more screams filled the air. The group was still, paralyzed by fear, breathing heavily as they desperately tried to move their bodies, to instinctually flee from the direction the sounds were coming from. Lev was the first to say anything.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?” He screamed, voice drenched in fear. The sound was not human, but it also was unlike anything they had ever heard. It sounded… non-living… like no living creature could possibly be capable of making that sound.

Hinata was still paralyzed, his memories of the festival flooding back to him. He was going to fail. He was going to fail. If that was what he was up against, he knew it.

He was going to fail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! 
> 
> How will Hinata Gang fare during the first phase??????
> 
> who knows????????


	6. Teenage Wildlife

It took a few minutes of laying down for the group to settle their nerves, after the sounds had stopped, finally. They were lucky there weren’t any opportunistic creatures nearby, or perhaps the wildlife were just as fearful of that… thing… as they were. Hinata, Lev, and Yachi took a moment to regroup themselves before they finally spoke, Lev’s words ringing in their head still.

“What was that?” Lev asked, still tinged with fear.

“I don’t know. I don’t know.” Yachi mumbled.

“I don’t want to know.” Hinata stuttered.

Lev gulped.

“Do you…” he struggled to articulate. “Do you think it killed them?”

Hinata thought back to the waiver. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves.

“I mean I had heard the rumors,” Lev continued, panicked. “But I never thought they were actually true.”

A moment passed between them, each breathing heavily, trying to reclaim their nerves. Finally, Hinata stood up.

“We need to keep moving.” Hinata said, with a look of previously unseen focus in his eyes.

_ I cannot fail _ , he thought to himself.  _ Whatever that was, we can avoid it if we stay cool _ .

“We can take another route and avoid the area where the sounds came from.” Hinata continued.

The two nodded nervously and got back up on their feet. After a brief moment of scanning which direction to go, they took off. As they bolted through the woods, there were still occasional sounds that spooked them, similar to the one before, but they steeled themselves to continue going, to not get lost in the fear. Hinata was grateful there weren’t any further encounters with the fearsome wildlife. There was a moment where Yachi appeared to be getting too far ahead.

“Yachi, wait!” Hinata said, trying to run a little faster to catch up to her. He had almost caught up to her when he felt himself falling, having tripped over a particularly tough mushroom that he hadn’t noticed. Yachi turned around and stopped, concern on her face as she bent down to examine Hinata. Lev caught up not long after. Pain emanated from Hinata’s knee.

“Oh god are you okay?” she asked, rolling up his shorts slightly. “Let me take a look.”

“What happened?” Lev asked, concerned.

“He tripped over something trying to get to me.” Yachi said. She looked at his knee, covered in a pretty bad scrape. “He scraped his knee pretty bad.” She pulled out her bag, and produced a small bottle of clear liquid, spraying it on the scrape. Hinata winced a bit at the sting. She then pulled out some bandages and wrapped them around his knee. “I sprayed it with some disinfectant.” she continued wrapping the bandages around. “Do you want some painkillers?” She asked.

Hinata shook his head, to which she briefly touched her hand on his knee. He cringed with pain.

“That’s a yes then.” she slightly unwrapped the bandages, before taking out a container with some sort of cream. She applied it generously to the scrape before reapplying the bandages. After a few seconds the pain in his knee went away.

“Wow, that worked really well.” Hinata marvelled.

“Are you able to keep going?” she asked.

“Yeah, we can go.” Hinata said. Lev pulled Hinata from the ground. “Let’s go.” Hinata declared.

The group resumed their speedy run through the forest. They passed by more mushrooms, but something was changing about the forest. They noticed more and more flowers, and the shade of the leaves on the trees were darkening, now more a royal blue. As they ran, they also began noticing dead animals. There were those isopod-like creatures strewn about, but there were also birds strewn about as well. Eventually they stumbled across a horrifically mutilated body, stopping them in their tracks.

“What the hell happened here?” Lev said, his disgust evident.

“What even was that?” Yachi said, tinged ever so slightly with horror. “I can’t even make out what it is.”

It wasn’t long after that that they heard the sounds of slow footsteps. They turned around to see a boy slowly creeping out from a hiding space. He had horror on his face. As he got up, he raised his hands to the air to indicate surrender. His expression was a mixture of terror and relief. He slowly stepped closer to them, his green hair and clothes tinged red from blood. Otherwise he appeared to be free of injuries.

“Please help me!” he cried. He pointed to the mangled corpse in front of them. “He was one of my teammates.” 

The group’s faces twisted with horror upon realizing the mass of entrails in front of them was once a human teenager, just like them.

“What happened to him?” Hinata asked, gulping down fear.

“There’s another applicant… a kid… he’s going around…” The kid choked on his words.

Lev’s eyes went wide.

“You mean-” he was cut off.

“You probably heard the sounds he made.” the kid said.

“You mean that was an applicant?” Hinata asked.

“Yes.” the kid stuttered.

The group went silent for a moment, contemplating the horrific news given to them.

“What’s your name?” Hinata asked the kid.

“Yamaguchi. Tadashi Yamaguchi.” he stuttered. “Can you please help me?” Yamaguchi begged.

“What do you need?” Hinata asked, trying to comfort him.

“There’s a station halfway through the forest where you can go if you want to withdraw.” Yamaguchi said.

“There is? I didn’t know that.” Hinata said.

“Can you please help me get there? It’s on the way to the finish so it won’t slow you down. I don’t have a map anymore, but it’s marked as a clearing on the map, halfway between where we started and the research facility.” He reasoned.

It sounded reasonable enough.

Hinata briefly pulled out the map.  _ It’s there _ , he thought.

“Alright, guys, we’re gonna help this kid out!” Hinata declared, taking control of the situation. Lev and Yachi nodded their heads, agreeing.

“You think you can keep up with our pace?” Hinata asked the boy.

“I’ll try.” Yamaguchi said.

The group took a moment again to look at the corpse before deciding to head off. They sprinted in the direction of the clearing and began their journey there. The forest was eerily quiet as they made their way there. The once faint sound from that rogue participant was no longer there, much to the group’s relief. Yamaguchi managed to keep up with their pace, albeit trailing slightly behind Lev. They passed by many small ponds and such, at one point stopping to have some water. The pond water was remarkably clean, cleaner than any freshwater body Hinata had ever seen. He supposed there was some sort of spring or something like that nearby. After the short break they continued their trek, eventually reaching the clearing. They immediately noticed something odd.

“Where’s the station?” Hinata asked Yamaguchi.

“I-” the boy was cut off.

“Excellent work Yamaguchi.” they heard a voice call out.

In front of them, in the clearing, emerged a tall and lanky boy, with blonde hair, and a frightening smirk on his face. He looked at them like prey.

“You brought me some toys.” The blonde boy said.

Horror dawned on the group as they helplessly watched the boy transform. His limbs elongated several times their length, becoming spider-like appendages that lifted his body several meters above the ground. The boy’s ribs elongated as well, protruding through his skin until they became a mass that resembled a jaw of spiny teeth located on his chest. His skull began to elongate as well, becoming a long, thin spike, with the eyes only barely resembling what they use to be. His teeth became needles protruding from his jaw. The mass of bones and jaws lurched towards them, letting out a blood-curdling chime, worse than the one they had heard before. One thing echoed in their minds.

_ We’re going to die. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edritch Tsukishima :DDDDDDDDDDDDD
> 
> srsly tho they fucked lol


	7. It's No Game, Part Two

They had little time to react as bony limbs flailed in their direction, shearing the surrounding terrain of its topsoil. Hinata and Yachi were able to dodge easily, but Lev narrowly escaped, eliciting a curse from him as he tumbled into the ground. The haze of combat left them with little time to think of a strategy, focusing instead on dodging the whip-like strikes of their foe. In between dodging hits, Hinata attempted to think of some sort of strategy. In the meanwhile, Lev unleashed a fleet of paper airplanes at the boy, each of them nicking one of his appendages. The monster let out a hollow cry as poison creeped up its arm, before, in one fell swoop, it snapped off its arm. A shrieking mass of bone and connective tissue soared from his wound, reforming a spiky appendage in the place of its lost arm. Hinata looked with horror.

“He can regenerate?” he screamed.

“Apparently.” Lev replied. Lev unleashed another barrage of planes, which were promptly crumbled by the boy. The boy let out a metallic shriek.

“You’re going to have to come up with a new trick!” the boy said, maniacally.

Hinata had to come up with a plan, and fast, if they were going to make it out alive. He’d given up the prospect of actually defeating the boy, it was obvious that the difference in strength was too great. He dodged another strike from the boy, narrowly escaping with a small gash on his arm. Lev tumbled beside him. 

“I’m out of paper.” he said, terrified.

“Shit.” Hinata muttered. A few meters away, Yachi was steadily and easily dodging each flay of limbs that came her way.

“Tsuki, can I go now?” Yamaguchi asked the boy. He looked frightened. Hinata had forgotten about the traitor as soon as the attacks began. He came up on the spot with a dirty plan. Avoiding the strikes of limbs, he made his way to Yamaguchi. He saw in his corner Lev get struck by the boy, and flung against a tree.

“Lev!” he screamed. Lev was unresponsive. He’d have to go ahead with his plan, and, with any hope, Lev would be okay. He finally reached Yamaguchi, and, with one sweeping movement, managed to grab a hold of him. He locked Yamaguchi in a hold, keeping him like a hostage. He called to “Tsuki”.

“I have your friend!” he called out, with just a hint of fear.

Tsuki’s limbs began to retract, regaining some semblance of humanity as he trudged his way towards Hinata. 

“What makes you think he’s my friend?” Tsuki growled. He still seemed vicious, but his voice was tinged with a bit of worry.

“I can tell by your look.” Hinata says, lying. It was a bluff, and depending on whether his guess was right, it could just get them out alive.

“What makes you think I won’t kill the both of you where you stand?” he snarled.

While Hinata had Tsuki distracted, Yachi was tending to Lev, making sure he was still alive.

“You won’t kill him.” Hinata said, tightening his grip on Yamaguchi. He doesn’t know where his brazen confidence is coming from, but if he can just keep it up, they might get out alive. “I’ll snap his neck if you don’t let us go.”

Hinata hoped the bluff would work.

Tsuki’s bones retracted further as he slowly creeped towards Hinata. He swung at Hinata with one of his arms. Hinata evaded and jumped backwards, tightening his grip around Yamaguchi’s neck.

“I’ll do it, you know.” Hinata said, voice trembling.

“You’re lying.” Tsuki said.

“I’ll do it.” HInata said again, trembles turning into cracks, tears streaming down his face.

“You’re too weak to do it.” Tsuki smiled. He swung another one of his limbs, slamming into Hinata over his skull. Hinata cried out in pain as he was further pushed by Tsuki, losing his grip on Yamaguchi. He could only lay on the ground as Tsuki once again extended his arms. He was right about to deal the finishing blow on Hinata, when a barrage of arrows came from the woods, piercing Tsuki’s back. Tsuki turned to face the direction where the arrows came from, slashing down the trees. A girl with jet black hair came rushing out of the woods at a high speed, arms ready for combat. She jumped on top of Tsuki, landing several blows and attempting to slam him down to the ground.

“Move away so I can hit,” he heard a somewhat familiar voice call out from the woods.”Kanji, fire another barrage!”

Another round of arrows rained down upon Tsuki, paralyzing him for a moment. Shortly after, a familiar figure with black hair and a confident aura cam running from the woods, needles in hand. He threw a handful of them, each landing in various spots on Tsuki’s body. The girl continued to pin the massive body of Tsuki down, while the familiar boy threw several more needles at Tsuki. Suddenly Tsuki stopped moving. Yamaguchi quickly ran towards the attackers, ready for combat, before the familiar boy launched a few needles at his forehead, after which he crumbled to the floor as if he had suddenly been knocked out.

“Are you with him?” the familiar boy asked, to nobody in particular.

“No.” HInata shouted, still lying on the ground injured. He suddenly remembered who the familiar looking boy was. “Kageyama?” he asked.

“You have 20 minutes before they wake up. You should get moving soon.” Kageyama said.

Hinata turned to see Lev slowly getting up. He was awake now. That was good.

The other group quickly disappeared, rushing back through the woods as quickly as they had arrived.

Yachi looked at Hinata, full of worry.

“We need to move, fast.” She called to him.

Hinata slowly got up, body aching from the blows he received. The three gradually regrouped after a few minutes.

“That guy said we have 20 minutes. We need to hurry away from here, and fast.” Yachi said, sternly. “Can you guys still run?” she asked.

They both nodded.

With haste, the three bolted back into the woods, trying as hard as they could to get away from the clearing. They were at least halfway to the end. They could still make it. The three were wordless as they raced through the woods. Hinata’s body burned with pain, but he had to deal with it. Lev was desperately trying to keep up from behind, but he was managing. It was about an hour of running through the woods that they stumbled across a road.

“This must lead to the research facility!” Hinata said, tears forming.

They continued along the road, silence between them. They might actually pass.

Tears welled from Hinata’s eyes as the figure of a large, sleek building appeared just ahead of them. Drawing out the last bit of energy they had, they quickened, making the final sprint for the building. A sign flowed past them as they ran, saying “Ishigimi Research Lab”. Joy sprang from them as they finally arrived at the lab, exhausted and traumatized from the ordeals they faced in the forest.

_ We made it, _ Hinata thought to himself.

And, for once in his life, Shoyo Hinata did not feel like a loser.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they made it!!!!!!  
I couldn't resist finishing the forest mini-arc today, so I went ahead and wrote this chapter.
> 
> The next few chapters will be comparatively lighter in content.


	8. Please Don't Leave Me (Interlude)

The process of entering the research facility proved to be cathartic for the group. Forced down emotions bubbled up in a well of tears and laughs. All the panic and fear HInata had suppressed during the ordeal came to a boiling point. Tears streamed down his face as he recalled how narrowly they had escaped near certain death. Anger trickled too, as he remembered how helpless he had been, how desperately he had needed the help of his bitter rival.  _ That stupid talented jerk,  _ he thought. He tried to forget the horrific scenes he had seen, the mutilated body, the monstrous transformation of Tsuki, everything. The three hugged it out after they entered the reception hall of the lab.

“We’re okay.” Lev sobbed.

“Umm, pardon the intrusion, but you applicants need to sign in before midnight, which is coming up in a few minutes. I have the sign=in sheet right here, so…” The receptionist said to them from the counter. She had an indifferent look on her face.

The group collected themselves for a moment and walked up to the desk, each signing their name under the appropriate area. 

“The dorms are just to the right, be sure to get some sleep for tomorrow.” The receptionist said, dully.

Just as they were about to head to the dorms, the front door suddenly crashed open. A hauntingly familiar smell flooded the room, that of spilled blood. Hinata turned around to see the bloody mess that was Tsuki walk in, along with a rather timid Yamaguchi. Horror dawned on Hinata’s face as he realized how narrowly they had avoided re-encountering the pair. Tsuki caught a glimpse of Hinata and gave him a frightening grin.

“I’m Tsukishima.” he told the receptionist.

“I don’t care,” she replied flatly. “Fill in your name on the sheet. You barely made it.”

After that the group quickly head into the dorms, fearing interaction with that monstrous boy from the forest. The group were totally worn out, feeling fatigue, pain from injuries, and total mental exhaustion. Lev and Hinata quickly entered the boy’s dorm after saying goodnight to Yachi, who headed to the girl’s dorm. The room was spacious, lined with bunks. Hinata took a brief moment to try and count the capacity. There were about 20 successful applicants already sleeping. Hinata and Lev went to one of the empty bunks. Hinata took top bunk since he was lighter, and Lev’s massive form crashed onto the bottom bunk with a monstrous thud. It was mere moments after Lev collapsed onto the bed that he started snoring. Hinata smiled slightly, the moment taking a bit of stress off him for a brief moment. Hinata laid down on the bed, thinking about what happened, tears forming in his eyes before he succumbed to exhaustion.

  
  


Hinata found himself back in the forest. He looked around, surrounded by his teammates.

“What’s going on?” He tried to say, but no words would come out. He watched in horror as Lev and Yachi began to twist and turn, bones elongating before the twisted face of Tsukishima became embedded in his mind. The two grew to monstrous proportions, spraying blood all over Hinata as thin, needle-like bones pierced their skin, before they were ripped apart by the outstretched limbs of Tsukishima looming in the distance. The mass of limbs and teeth and entrails approached Hinata, pouring entrails and blood over him as Tsukishima ground up the bodies of his friends over him. Hinata vomited as more and more blood soaked him, before he was surrounded by images of family and classmates from back home attempting to help him as they were killed and mutilated by Tsukishima’s destructive limbs. Hinata found himself drowning in an ocean of blood and entrails, before he felt a spike and searing pain go through his chest. He woke up with a loud scream and chills.

This woke up a few applicants from their slumber.

“Poor kid’s having nightmares.” one of them said.

“Y’think he was near that strange thing back in the forest?” another mumbled.

Hinata was sweating, still in the grips of primal fear. Lev reached up from below.

“Hey, Hinata, are you okay?” Lev asked, full of concern. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Hinata remained silent.

“Whatever you saw, it’s not real.” he continued.

Hinata shook his head even though he knew Lev couldn’t see him. He knew it  _ was _ real. He’d seen it. HIs mind raced with thoughts.  _ It shouldn’t be possible,  _ he thought.  _ The exam proctors didn’t do anything about it, _ he thought. It’s true, the receptionist showed no reaction upon seeing Tsukishima arrive covered in blood. It’s almost as if they were used to it.  _ What are they not telling us?  _ He thought. Did they expect applicants to use deadly force to try and pass? None of this even began to explain how a human could transform like that, into such a hideous creature. Fear returned to Hinata.

_ How much do I really know about Scouts? _

It took a few moments of Lev calmly talking to him before he fell asleep again, this time without interruption.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sad for hinata.
> 
> let me know what you thought, I like getting comments! ^-^


	9. Otherside (Interlude)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama POV, before Hinata's team arrived at the facility.

Kageyama arrived at the research facility in a fairly exasperated state. In order to make up for the lost time they spent dealing with Tsukishima, the group had made their way to the facility at double speed, making sure they wouldn’t fail the exam if any unforeseen events occurred on the way there. Even for all his training, Kageyama was still worn out by the time they arrived. They entered the building, breathing heavily. Tsutomi was the only one who seemed to not show any obvious signs of fatigue.

“I underestimated you.” Kageyama said to her.

“People usually do,” she smiled. “So, you wanna tell me what the hell that thing we fought was?”

“It was probably another participant.” Kageyama said. Kanji stared at him.

“Like hell that was a person!” Kanji exclaimed. “It had to be some sort of monster.”

“It’s complicated, but I’m pretty sure it was just another applicant.” Kageyama said.

“I don’t think s-” Kanji reasoned before he was cut off by Kageyama.

“Just shut up and trust me.” Kageyama snapped.

“I have a feeling this has something to do with your needles.” Tsutomi mused.

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

The group walked up to the desk where the blank-faced receptionist stood, waiting for them to sign in. The receptionist pointed to the sheet. Kageyama walked up first, signing his name, followed by Kanji, and finally Tsutomi.

“The boy’s dorm is on your right, then make a left.” she said, expressionless. “You,” she said, pointing to Tsutomi, “=are sleeping in the boy’s dorm.”

“What? Why?” Kanji asked. Tsutomi looked embarrassed but showed no signs of protest.

“It’s complicated.” Tsutomi muttered. Kageyama didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t press it. The group made their way to the dorm. As they arrived, they took count of the people who had already arrived. 

“14.” Kageyama muttered. He walked over to the bunk furthest from all the other applicants. Tsutomi took a bunk that was equally far from the others but also opposite of Kageyama. Kanji shrugged and took a bunk near the other applicants, not understanding why the other two picked beds so far away. As Kageyama lay on the bed, he thought about what had happened in the forest. He fiddled with his hands as he thought. 

“I didn’t expect there to be another user taking the exam.” he mumbled to himself. It’s true, he genuinely didn’t, although now it seemed obvious. If he had gotten training at his school, it was only natural that at least one other high-performing applicant would have gotten similar training. Still, he didn’t think an applicant could be so… unhinged. He recalled the unsightly form of the applicant. Slight shudders ran down his spine. Then, his thoughts turned to Hinata.

_ Why did I save him? _ He thought. He had wasted valuable time trying to incapacitate an enemy they could’ve easily slipped past. His teammates had initially protested, but after some yelling, they had agreed to help.  _ Why did I want to help him?  _ He wondered. There was something faintly different about Hinata, Kageyama felt. He didn’t know what, but some inkling of him felt that Hinata was somehow important.  _ What does he have that I don’t?  _ Kageyama thought. He desperately wanted to understand why he thought Hinata was so special, but answers refused to surface. There was nothing about him that Kageyama thought was special other than the vague feeling. His performance when they had fought in the tournament earlier in the year was brave, but otherwise not outstanding.  _ What was so special about him? _

Kageyama tried to think about something else. For a moment, he attempted to discern the nature of Tsukishima’s ability. Was it some kind of mutation? His mind went fuzzy again. Time passed as his mind raced with cluttered thoughts. He stilled as he heard a familiar sounding voice heading towards the dorms.  _ Hinata, _ he thought. He silently observed as Hinata and one of his teammates entered the room, the two of them picking a bunk together.  _ They’re probably friends, too,  _ Kageyama thought. He began twiddling his fingers as he observed. The friend quickly fell asleep after collapsing on the bottom bunk. He wasn’t sure what Hinata was doing. Why did he care what Hinata was doing?

Kageyama stayed like that, motionless and awake. It was a good 20 minutes later when he heard a scream of terror reverberate throughout the dorm.  _ Hinata, _ he realized. A slight amount of concern sprung through him from nowhere. He figured it was probably the shock of having nearly died. Most ordinary people would be traumatized after encountering such a monstrosity. The aura of fear settled after a while, though not before nearly every person in the room had woken up, some of them openly speculating the cause of the scream. It was not long after that Kageyama began feeling the familiar waves of drowsiness creep in. His mind trailed off before he fell asleep.

_ Why can’t I stop thinking about him? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pining but he doesn't know it yet lol


	10. I Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> split POV scenes between Team Tsukishima (briefly), Team Kageyama, and Team Hinata.

The applicants were woken up by the barking voice of Mr. Ittetsu. 

“WAKE UP!” he yelled, clanging two metallic objects together. 

Hinata scrambled in his bed, frightened by the loud sounds waking him up. Lev below him let out a bellowing wail, exclaiming his dissatisfaction with being woken up so early. The dorms began to stir with action as individual applicants began to rise. Hinata got off the bunk, doing a few stretches on the floor, trying to energize himself. In the distance, Hinata caught sight of Kageyama, who was also doing some exercises to wake himself up.

“Alright boys, please get ready as soon as possible. The next phase of the exam will be held in the research lab. You have 20 minutes.” Ittetsu left the room, allowing the boys time to get ready.

Hinata pulled out a bag of dried nuts and began munching. He was doing his best to make sure he was prepared for the next phase.

“Lev, do you want some?” Hinata asked, mouth muffled by the amount of nuts crunching about.

“Oh, uh, sure.” Lev said, extending a hand. Hinata poured some of the nuts into his hand. Lev began picking at them, eating them slowly. “Do you think I’ll need any planes?” Lev asked.

Hinata shrugged. “The proctor said it was going to be inside the research lab so I don’t think we’re gonna be fighting.” Hinata said, mouth still full of food.

“Ah, good.” Lev sighed. “I only have one ream of paper left.”

Hinata hurriedly swallowed the remainder of the chewed up nuts. Lev also finished reorganizing his bag. The two began to head out of the dorm to regroup with Yachi. They found her waiting for them just outside the boy’s dorm.

“How did you two sleep?” she asked.

“Fine.” Hinata lied.

“I slept ok.” Lev said, nudging Hinata in the stomach from the side. Hinata let out a slight grunt but didn’t elaborate further. 

The group followed the line of applicants out to the entry hall and further into the lab, marveling at the variety of atriums and such that they passed by along the way. Eventually, they noticed the crowd trickling into a large room, with a sign above the entrance reading “Main Archive”. The room was sleek in design, lined with cots and bookshelves filled with various texts that appeared to be organized by subject. To the far left was a large window that gave a spectacular view of the forest surrounding the lab. Each cot was accompanied by a variety of advanced medical equipment. There were also various potted plants throughout the room, as well as what seemed to be an herb rack on the far right, with various stoves and burners being present as well.

“This is where the second phase is gonna be?” Hinata asked. Nobody answered. Lev was too busy marveling at all the unknown plant specimens that lined the halls, and Yachi was admiring the texts that lined the archive.

“Alright applicants!” boomed the familiar voice of the proctor, Mr. Ittetsu. Hinata flinched slightly at the loud noise, momentarily entering a state of panic before realizing the voice was just the proctor. “In this stage of the exam, we will be gauging your ability to utilize information given to you,” he continued. “But before we can begin, we need one volunteer from each team. Before you volunteer, please know that if your team fails this event, it could result in injury or death.” he cleared his throat. “Now, volunteers, please come up to the front.”

Hinata immediately knew what he had to do.

“I’m going to volunteer.” Hinata told Yachi and Lev. The two initially looked like they were going to protest, but then settled. They simply nodded their heads, affirming Hinata’s decision. Hinata waded through the crowd, stepping up to the front. He looked around at the other volunteers, to see if there were any he recognized. He noticed the girl that had been with Kageyama had volunteered, and-

_ Fear. _

Hinata began sweating as his eyes widened at the sight of Tsukishima. He tried to swallow down his panic, trying to reassure himself that this wasn’t a combat event, and that Tsukishima wouldn’t attack him. He turned away.

“Alright,” Mr. Ittetsu said. “Volunteers, please each lay down on one of the cots around the room, in a short while a research assistant will come by each of you and inject you with a substance.” Ittetsu turned to the other applicants. “The goal of this phase will be to use the materials you have here to determine what substance your teammates have been injected with. You will have 24 hours before the substance will begin to shut down their organs.”

Hinata shook as the research assistant came by and stilled his arm. She prepared a syringe, and, in swift precision, injected it into his arm. He winced a bit at the pain, but it was surprisingly less painful than other injections.

“You may now begin.” Ittetsu shouted.

Lev and Yachi immediately rushed to Hinata’s side. Yachi began monitoring Hinata’s state, while Lev began asking questions.

“First of all, did you notice what color the substance was?” Lev asked.

Hinata tried to think and remember. 

“It was purple-ish, I think, and it was a liquid. It went in really easily.” Hinata said, with a sense of urgency.

Lev checked his arm where he had been injected. The surrounding area was turning a vibrant purple, distinct from bruising. Hinata cleared his throat.

“She got me right in the vein, so I don’t think it would bruise. That only happens when they stab too much right?” Hinata said.

Lev observed the mark for a moment, then thought a bit.

“Ok, so it’s a venom, not a poison.” He finally said. He went to go searching amongst the books that lined the archive. “Yachi, stay here and monitor his condition, and let me know if something changes. Hinata, tell Yachi immediately if you start feeling something new.”

Lev darted to the bookshelves, desperately scanning for a section on venom. He considered what he knew already: purple-ish venom that caused bruising on the site of contamination. He already had a variety of suspects but he wanted to be completely sure before he started trying remedies and anti-venom. He knew from what Hinata had said about it injecting easily that it wasn’t plant or fungi based, since those tended to be far too viscous for injection. It was probably animal-based or synthetic.  _ It causes organ failure, _ he thought. 

* * *

Kageyama and Kanji were digging through books to find any good information that could help solve the task at hand. Tsutomi was performing breathing exercises to reduce her blood flow to slow the rate at which the venom spread. They had already deduced it was a venom from the fact it was injected, but they had no idea where to start. For starters, whether or not it was even a venom made in the homelands. For all they knew, the venom was from an animal indigenous to the Farlands. Kageyama decided.

“Kanji, you keep looking here, I’m going to go look at the books on native animals to the forest.” Kageyama said with authority. Kanji nodded and continued scanning the books.

Kageyama went to the section full of texts and encyclopedias on the flora and fauna of Ishigimi Forest. He began his search.

* * *

  
  


Tsukishima’s group were the first to pass. It was simple really. Tsukishima had volunteered for a reason. The surrounding groups let out various expressions of horror as Yamaguchi swiftly amputated the arm that had been injected. Blood sprayed from Tsukishima's stump as his freshly severed arm fell to the floor. Other applicants stood by, silent, as the amputated arm began to rapidly putrefy, leaving behind a bloody sludge on the floor and a disgusting odor. Ittetsu had come by to examine what had caused such a commotion.

“Well that’s certainly an interesting solution to the problem.” he marvelled.

Tsukishima managed to suppress the pain, as he always did, and triggered his ability. Gradually, stretching bone and muscle sprouted from the bleeding stump that had been created by the amputation. Within a few minutes, Tsukishima had grown a new, albeit grotesquely mangled, fully functioning arm. A research assistant came by and drew some blood from the arm. She mixed the blood with some sort of liquid in a separate vial, and she watched as the blood turned green. She had a look of incredulity on her face as she signalled a thumbs up to the group. Tsukishima’s blood was free of the toxin.

“In all my years of proctoring the exam, I have never seen an applicant pass this phase without even identifying what the substance was!” Ittetsu said, in awe. Come with me, boys, you two have passed this phase.

* * *

Lev had spent a good hour reading through texts, though he had failed to think of any possible candidates for the identity of the substance. Yachi suddenly called to him from beside Hinata. Lev rushed over to him.

“What’s wrong?” Lev asked, concerned.

“Hinata said he’s begun seeing things… things that aren’t exactly there.” Yachi said.

Lev got down by Hinata’s side.

“What do you see?” Lev asked.

“It’s not that I see anything specific,” Hinata said, voice sounding slightly dazed. “It’s that I have this feeling, this hunch.” he continued. “I get the feeling… like that cat from back in the forest.”

“What do you mean?” Lev asked, not understanding what he was getting at.

“Just trust me… look for the cat.” Hinata said, voice cracking. The venom was already starting to affect Hinata’s senses.

Suddenly, everything made sense to Lev.  _ OF COURSE,  _ he thought, mentally slapping himself. The reason he hadn’t found or thought of any matching toxins is because the venom was from a Farlands animal. Specifically, he was now thinking, that large cat they had encountered in the woods. He scrambled to the section on native animals, frantically trying to find the section on feline creatures.

* * *

Kageyama had found the book he was looking for. It had an entry for an animal called a “Lesser Cobra Panther” that was native to Ishigimi Forest. It produced a purple venom from its fangs, known for its slow acting nature. One of its trademark symptoms was causing victims’ senses to dull, often giving the illusion that there were more panthers surrounding them than were actually there. The difficult part was going to be preparing the antidote. Thankfully, there was one, although Kageyama doubted the exam’s creators would make a phase with no solution. He scanned the text to see if the antidote was given anywhere. He was interrupted by the searing feeling of a glare. He looked up from his knelt position to see a silver-haired giant glaring at him. It was one of Hinata’s teammates, Kageyama remembered.

“Are you done with that?” the boy asked, aggressively.

“No.” Kageyama lied.

“You’re lying.” the boy said, venom on his tongue.

_ Shit, _ Kageyama thought.

“Why should I give it to you?” Kageyama said, sounding incredibly stupid now.

“I don’t know.” the boy said, still glaring at Kageyama. “It’s the cat, isn’t it.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened. 

“How did you know th-” Kageyama was cut off.

“Why should I tell you?” the boy said, with a slight laugh.

Kageyama was silent.

“I’m judging by your look that the antidote isn’t in there.” the boy continued. Kageyama was still silent. “I’ll tell you what, if you help me find the book with the antidote, I’ll make an extra one for you.”

“Why would you do that?” Kageyama said, trying to maintain a poker face.

“Just think of it as thanks, for helping us back in the forest.” the boy said. Kageyama blushed, thinking back to when he helped Hinata. 

“I’m Lev, by the way.” the boy said.

  
“Kageyama.  _ Tobio _ Kageyama.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tsuki op, pls nerf


	11. Something Changed

The newly united scavenging team of Kageyama and Lev had a difficult time searching for texts that possibly contained the recipe for the antidote. They looked through countless shelves, but there seemed to be a distinct lack of any information regarding antidotes in general, let alone for this specific venom. This possibly meant a few things: either someone had already gotten to the recipe, or, worse, they hadn’t provided the info at all and were expecting applicants to make an antidote from scratch.

“I can’t find anything.” Lev said.

“Same.” Kageyama replied. Lev was looking around the room, trying to see if there were any bookshelves they hadn’t searched.  _ Shit,  _ Lev thought. He noticed the rack on the far side of the room, seemingly filled with a variety of herbs and plants.

“I think they want us to figure out an antidote from scratch.” Lev said, voice trembling slightly.

“What?” Kageyama asked. “How would we-”

“I might be able to do it,” Lev said, still staring at the plants in the distance. “It may take some time though.” he continued.

Lev walked over to the plants, Kageyama following close behind. Lev spent a moment mentally cataloging the plants that the lab had.  _ There has to be some kind of clue, _ he thought.

* * *

  
  


Hinata was starting to develop a fever. Yachi had noticed it before, but it was starting to increase in temperature, and Hinata looked to be having a miserable time.

“Are you ok?” Yachi asked, trying to comfort Hinata. Hinata nodded weakly.

“Lev’ll definitely be able to cure me.” HInata said.

“I think so too.” Yachi said.

Hinata at this point was having full blown hallucinations. He could see, or vaguely sense, dozens of other beings in the room, staring at him, hunting him. He did best to hide his fear, but it was impossible. Every fibre of his being told him to run, get out of the lab as fast as possible and hide, but he knew it was some part of the toxin causing this. Suddenly, something far less hazy began to affect him. 

Hinata vaguely saw the mangled figure of Tsukishima in front of him, limbs outstretched. Yachi was trying to talk to him, but all other stimuli were fading away. Hinata cried as one of Tsukishima’s bloody, boney fingers pressed against his lips. Tsukishima’s smug grin was directly in front of Hinata’s face. His breathing accelerated, now hyperventilating as pain seared throughout his body. Spikes of Tsukishima’s fingers were piercing his skin, piercing his flesh. He tried to scream, but nothing came out. 

In a flash, everything disappeared. He could vaguely hear Yachi mumble something- “attack” -before he passed out.

* * *

  
  


Lev was still busy analyzing the plants when he heard Hinata’s scream.  _ I don’t have time to check on him, _ Lev thought, and he did his best to ignore it and concentrate on the plants.  _ There had to be some kind of clue,  _ he thought. The plants were all standard medicinal herbs and plants, but there was something he was missing, he could feel it.

“What are the plants?” Kageyama asked.

“They’re just medicinal herbs. Same that you can find back at home.” Lev said.

“This one too?” Kageyama was pointing at a strange looking plant with lots of thorns.

“No, that one’s-” Lev was smacked in the side of his face with realization. Excitement lit up his entire face. “That’s Sukovian Tangleweed!” he exclaimed.

“Suck of?” Kageyama was visibly confused.

“It’s a plant from my home country, it’s super poisonous to cats, but we use it to decorate food dishes and stuff!” Lev was beginning to put things together, realizing what the plant signified. “I think I know what the antidote is.” he continued.

Lev began carefully snapping off the thorns from the plant, gathering them into a small pile.

“Kageyama, get me a pot and a dish and a funnel and a burner,” Lev asked. “And some water!”

Kageyama grabbed the materials from one of the cabinets and handed them to Lev. Lev began pouring the thorns into the pot with the water. After he was finished, he set up the funnel and dish so they would collect vapor. He set the pot on the burner and began heating it up.

“You sure this is gonna work?” Kageyama asked, skeptical.

“I think it should. There’s no reason why a regular plant would be among medicinal herbs like this.”

The two observed as the liquid containing the thorns began to boil, greenish vapor traveling up and condensing against the glass of the dish before beginning to drip down into the funnel. It was going to be some time before they had enough liquid.

“How much are we going to need for both of us?” Kageyama asked.

“I’m going to need to distill it a few times to get it to optimal potency, so it might take a while.” Lev said.

“How long is a while?” Kageyama asked, sounding slightly worried.

“We should have enough time, it may take 5 or 6 hours.” Lev said, turning back to the liquid.

Time passed slowly from that point on. Kageyama could see around the room the frantic search of other applicants for resources that could help cure their teammates. He noticed two teams were already gone, probably having passed already. He wondered how they had passed so quickly, before he noticed Hinata in the distance. He looked unconscious. Worry dripped down Kageyama’s spine, seemingly out of nowhere.  _ I hope he’s okay,  _ he caught himself thinking. He mentally slapped himself.  _ Why do I care?  _ He thought. His gaze turned to where Tsutomi was lying. To Kageyama’s surprise, Kanji was nowhere in sight. Or at least, he wasn’t, until he felt tapping on his shoulder.

“Who’s that giant guy?” Kanji said, startling Kageyama.

“His name is Lev, he’s making the antidote.” Kageyama replied.

“Okay… why are you watching him?” Kanji said, with a hint of sass.

“He’s from the team we helped in the forest. He said he wants to help us back, idiot.” Kageyama snapped. “Go tend to Tsutomi and leave me alone.” he continued.

Kanji crept away, seemingly surprised at how quickly Kageyama had snapped at him.

It was another few hours until Kageyama had finally heard progress from Lev again.

“The first dose is done,” Lev said. “Do you-”

“Give it to Hinata,” Kageyama said harshly. “I’ll watch the lab. Go.”

Lev smiled and nodded before quickly running to where HInata was laid on the cot.

  
  


* * *

Hinata woke up to the smiling, beaming face of Yachi, who had informed him that Lev had found the antidote and given it to him. Hinata could barely comprehend the words, as his mind was filled with fuzzy confusion, but, as his eyes began to focus, he could see Lev in the distance handing a vial of something to… Kageyama, of all people. Hinata burned with rage.  _ Why is he helping that jerk?  _ He thought.

“Are you okay now?” Yachi asked.

“Yeah I just…” Hinata struggled to form words. “Confuse.” he managed to get out.

“Oh I see.: Yachi smiled. Not long after that, the research assistant came by and drew some blood from Hinata before mixing it in a vial with some liquid. Hinata and Yachi watched confusedly as the blood began to turn green, signifying their success. Lev rushed over upon seeing the lady.

“We passed?” Lev asked.

“Applicant 677’s blood is free of the toxin. Your team has passed the second phase of the Magnolia Academy Entrance Exam.” the assistant said. “Congratulations. Mr. Ittetsu will lead you to the dining hall.”

The three looked at each other and smiled. They had passed another hurdle. The three continued celebrating as Lev noticed the assistant heading over to the direction where Kageyama’s team was next.

Hinata’s mind was still clouded by haze, but one thing was clear in his mind.

_ Why did that jerk let me have the antidote first? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter lol.  
https://youtu.be/EFSdf_VeYG0
> 
> something funny is going on with Kageyama, and HInata wants to get to the bottom of it.


	12. Mirrored Heart (Interlude)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the gang eats food, hinata gets angry, kageyama pines, and yachi realizes something.

The dining hall was a minimalist affair. There were plain looking tables lined with plain looking chairs, and the abundance of potted plants seen throughout the lab was absent here. However, in place of any decorations was an array of delicious looking foods, from savory meals to sweet desserts. Hinata’s eyes grew teary as he relished the sight of all the food. He immediately bolted for the plates, grabbing utensils as well, and began piling his plate with food of all types. Lev and Yachi followed behind, albeit at a more relaxed pace. They served themselves a generous yet comparatively modest amount of food, and the three sat down at the table. Lev looked around, taking stock of the people who had passed. There was Kageyama’s group, their group, a group of 2 that they hadn’t seen before, and, of course, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Lev was glad Hinata was so engrossed in his meal, because he didn’t want him to get tense as he usually did when he caught sight of Tsukishima. After a bit of eating, Lev noticed the girl sat with Kageyama had gotten up and was heading towards their table.

“Kageyama told me that you guys helped us out.” she said. Her voice was somewhat androgynous, Lev noted. Hinata looked at her with a scowl.

“It wasn’t my idea.” Hinata said rudely, mouth full of food.

“I just wanted to repay you guys back for when you helped us in the forest.” Lev said. Hinata let out a dissatisfied “Hmph.” 

“I really appreciate it. I don’t know if we would have passed without that help.” the girl said. “Name’s Goshiki Tsutomi.” she continued, extending her hand. Lev reached out to meet it.

“Lev Haiba,” he said, smiling. “Just call me Lev.”

Goshiki smiled.

“The angry glutton is Hinata, and the girl next to me is Yachi.” Lev continued.

“Nice to meet you.” Yachi said, humbly.

“Nice to meet all of you.” Goshiki said. “I should get back to my table now.” she said, beginning to walk away.

After she had gotten out of ear’s distance, Lev turned to Hinata.

“Why were you so rude to her? You know they helped us out right?” Lev asked, annoyed.

“She’s with Kageyama,” Hinata said, sourly. “She’s probably had everything in life handed to her just like him.”

“What exactly is your problem with him? He’s done nothing but help us so far.” Lev said, voice raising in tone.

“That’s what you think,” Hinata muttered. “He’s just doing it to get in good graces with the proctor.” Hinata continued. “He’s the type who does anything to try and get ahead.”

Lev was silent for a moment, before annoyance once again washed his face.

“Don’t you think he would be a good ally to have? He’s obviously skilled, and it would be better to have him as a friend than face him as a foe.” Lev reasoned.

“Guys like him don’t make friends.” Hinata mumbled.

Lev looked over to the table where Kageyama was sitting. Goshiki and the other boy were talking and laughing, but Kageyama looked deep in thought, twiddling his fingers and ignoring the other two teammates sat at his table. It looked like the other boy had tried to get his attention, but it only resulted in Kageyama lashing out at him.  _ It’s true, _ Lev caught himself thinking.

“Whatever.” Lev conceded, turning back to face Hinata.

“I think we should talk about something else.” Yachi said, smiling sheepishly.

* * *

  
  


Kageyama sat at the table, lost in thought. What were his thoughts, specifically? Well, he was thinking about a certain, annoying, rude, orange-haired fluffball. He was thinking about Hinata,  _ again. _ More specifically, he was faced with burning curiosity. He wanted to analyze Hinata, to know more about him. Purely in an analytical sense, of course. Hinata had obviously changed in some way since they had last fought, and Kageyama wanted to be able to face him fully prepared.  _ It’s just logical,  _ he thought. The basis for his speculation was rooted in the type of unknown aura Kageyama had felt emanating from Hinata. It was something he had never felt before, some kind of unknown potential seeping from Hinata’s pores. His educators had never taught him about this, and he had never felt it from opponents far stronger than Hinata. Still, he couldn’t help but feel there was something different about Hinata, something about how light seemed to shine from his very being. There was just something Kageyama couldn’t place.

“Kageya-” Kanji interrupted his thoughts.

“What do you want?” Kageyama snapped, annoyed and angry that his train of thought had been derailed by that idiot.

“Jeez, I was just going to ask you what your-” Kanji was interrupted again.

“I don’t care.” Kageyama said, cooly.

“Best to just leave him be, Kanji, he’s busy thinking.” Tsutomi reasoned.

Kanji turned away from Kageyama, and resumed his conversation with Tsutomi. For whatever reason, Tsutomi seemed to understand Kageyama’s quirks. She always knew when Kageyama was thinking deeply, and she never seemed personally offended when Kageyama snapped or barked orders. They seemed to have some sort of mutual understanding, or at least a better foundation than he had with Koganegawa. That guy was a total idiot. Despite his immense skill at archery, the boy had absolutely zero ability to read a room. As such, he required a heavy hand to deal with. Kageyama was momentarily distracted from his thoughts about Hinata by this event, but he eventually realized this.

_ It’s not as if I like Hinata, right? _

* * *

Yachi was obviously slightly left out of the team. She knew as soon as they had gotten together that Lev and Hinata had some sort of pre-existing friendship before the exam had started, and she wasn’t going to trample that. She did, however, wish she could get closer to Hinata. They hadn’t talked much outside of the exams, and she always pained when she saw Hinata succumbing to panic and fear, as he had done occasionally since the incident in the forest. At the same time, however, she didn’t want to lose the respect she had gained from Hinata and Lev. It wasn’t everyday that she encountered teammates who fully trusted her abilities and knew she could hold her own. She was used to being considered baggage by teammates, simply because she was a girl. It was part of the reason she had worked on getting her speed and evasion skills so polished. But still, there was a part of her that wanted to be close with Hinata. He was brave, determined, and pretty adorable.  _ Wait,  _ she thought.  _ What was that last part? _

_ It’s not as if I like Hinata, right? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no, this is not harem.  
hinata is of course oblivious to this, but w/e
> 
> pls comment and bookmark ok?  
:DDDDDD


	13. Weeds, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> exposition heavy chapter leading up to the final phase.

Following the luxurious lunch in the dining hall, the applicants were escorted by an assistant back through the meandering halls of the lab, eventually leading them outside. Hinata was puzzled by this for a moment, before his jaw opened in amazement as one of the winged buses from before landed before them, gently plopping on the dusty road in a light cloud of dust. Notably, it was solitary, leading Hinata to come to the conclusion that it would be just this bus taking the remaining applicants to the next stage of the exam. Hinata had counted the amount of people who had passed. After a good 20 minutes in the dining hall, he had noticed no more applicants had been passing, leaving the total number at exactly sixteen. There were four intact teams of three, Hinata noted: there was Hinata’s team, Kageyama’s team, as well as two others. One of the other teams consisted of an odd bunch, led by a person called Kozuma Kenma, consisting of the leader, Kenma, and two others, So Inuoka and Abe Kaito. So was fairly tall, with chestnut brown hair, and seemed to always wear a cheery expression. Lev said So reminded him of a tall version of Hinata. Abe was also somewhat tall, though slightly shorter than So, and of fairly strong build. Abe sported an unruly undercut, the long, shaggy part of his hair dyed blonde. The group was, of course, led by the highly androgynous Kozuma Kenma, who managed to keep the team grounded with all the enthusiasm of a lazy housecat. 

The other full team was a rowdy bunch, with no apparent leader. The collective seemed to operate on a basis of pure power, all of them being fairly bulky guys with egos you could feel burning off them. The tallest of the bunch was the tall and looming Kindaichi Yutaro, who had a tall and prickly hairdo that resembled a welling mass of black fumes. The other members were equally impressioned, such as the eyebrowless Kyotaro Kentaro, who sported a blonde short-crop hairdo with black double-bars lining his temples. The odd one of the group was the strangely named Rin Pinball, who sported bright purple hair and apparently wore contacts that made their pupils appear far larger than they probably were. Rin’s appearance and gender was not immediately clear from their appearance, though their body bore sturdy musculature that suggested they were a boy, but Hinata couldn’t be sure. 

The remaining applicants were two pairs of two, each having presumably lost their third members during the exam.  _ How odd,  _ Hinata thought, considering that you could still pass what were presented as team events after losing a teammate. Hinata shuddered at the thought of the fates of the teammates.  _ Something horrible probably happened, _ Hinata thought. Regardless, the two pairs had managed to get this far with their handicap, both through very different means. One of the pairs were the maniac duo of Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi, the villainous lot who had gone on a bloody rampage during the first phase of the exam. Hinata did his best to suppress the familiar waves of fear and panic that welled whenever he saw Tsukishima, his mind doing its best to avoid recalling the grisly scenes that had been Tsukishima’s doing. For all of Tsukishima’s morbid might, however, Hinata couldn’t help but notice the uneven power dynamic present in the murderous duo. Yamaguchi always seemed to be the timid, unwilling part of the duo, who mostly just followed Tsukishima’s orders for reasons Hinata was not privy to. Hinata suppressed a shudder before he decided to look elsewhere, narrowly catching a blood-curdling grin from Tsukishima, who had noticed Hinata’s gaze.

The other pair of applicants were the aloof duo of Kunimi Akira and Sakunami Kosuke. Their duo seemed to be rooted entirely in practicality, as there seemed to be no genuine connection between the two. Hinata had also found out that their former third teammate had not, in fact, been brutally killed or maimed, but in fact had dropped out between the first and second phase due to some sort of retrospective cowardice. Kunimi was a very quiet person, although fairly skilled in close combat. His appearance was fairly nondescript, he had a very average hairdo and no immediately recognizable features. Sakunami was fairly similar in appearance, although there was a noticeable discrepancy in height and build. Sakunami was short, and of lithe build, clearly built for agility. From what Hinata learned, Sakunami specialized in speed and illusion, using underhanded tactics and maneuvers to constantly remain in an enemy’s blind spots and provide weakening blows designed to make a target easier to take out for a main combatant. The two, despite their indifference, made an effective duo, and their combined intellect had been enough to work through the second phase just in time, as Sakunami had consistently remained lucid enough to actively assist in procuring an effective treatment for the toxin.

Hinata looked around, realizing the calibre of the applicants that surrounded him. He was obviously outclassed by the majority of the applicants, but he didn’t let that phase him. He knew he could figure out a way to beat them, especially if he had the help of his fantastic teammates. Lev’s skills came in handy in many ways, especially against the physically strong, and Yachi was a reliable medic and support unit.

The applicants were instructed to board the winged bus shortly after. They calmly boarded the bus one at a time, each applicant clinging to their established teams somewhat. Hinata was the last to board the bus. Once settled in, they noticed the familiar figure of Mr. Ittetsu boarding the bus.

“Alright!” the proctor’s voice boomed, as was typical of him. “On the way to the next phase, I will provide you with rough instructions regarding the next phase, which will be the final phase.” Ittetsu continued.

“The most important thing to note is that the final phase  _ will not _ be a team event.” he said.

Shock filled the bus as silence pervaded the atmosphere. Hinata’s heart sank.

“The final phase will serve as a way of judging every applicant’s individual talents,” Ittetsu said. “Which naturally means that having you work in a team would only obscure your strengths alone.”

Panic began to fill Hinata.

_ Alone _ .

_ I have to pass the final phase… _

_ Alone. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hinata gonna have to use his thinker lol
> 
> pls comment and stuff too!!!!!!


	14. Weeds, Part Two (The Origin of the Species)

The bus ride was totally quiet except for Ittetsu’s speech explaining the final phase.

“The final phase will be a reverse-seeded tournament,” Ittetsu said. Hinata and Lev perked up as the sounds of paper being passed backwards from the front echoed in the quiet bus. “The matches will start with the top seeded applicants, and gradually, as the matches progress, the lower-seeded applicants will face the top seeded ones.”

The premise was rather unfair, most thought, but no one chose to voice this concern. Hinata gulped as two sheets of paper were finally handed to them from the seats in front of them.

  


The tournament bracket very clearly illustrated the complicated order of the tournament, as well as very bluntly showing the seeding. Kageyama and Tsukishima were the top seeded applicants, judging by the order. Hinata scanned the document. He and Yamaguchi were the bottom seeded applicants. Disappointment washed over Hinata. He raised his hand.

“What exactly determined the seeding, Mr. Ittetsu?” Hinata asked, voice trembling slightly.

“The seeds were determined based on performance both during the exam as well as past performances throughout your middle school career.” Ittetsu explained.

“Oh.” Hinata mumbled, sinking into his seat.

“As you all can see, the losers of the first and second heats of both brackets will get a second opportunity to prove themselves, in the C Bracket,” Ittetsu continued explaining, pointing to the middle section on the bracket. “The winner of the C bracket will face the winner of the A and B brackets.”

Hinata grumbled.

_ Why do only the strong ones get second chances? _He thought.

“In addition, please note that losing a match is not immediate grounds for disqualification from the exam. It is entirely possible to lose a match but still be deemed worthy of passing the entrance exam. What is important is that you do your absolute best.” Ittetsu explained.

Hinata perked up upon hearing this, figuring it gave him a bit more of a fighting chance.

“Now,” Ittetsu said, clearing his throat. “The conditions for victory are simple. You must get your opponent to surrender unconditionally...” Ittetsu smirked. “...Without killing them. If you kill your opponent, you will be immediately disqualified.”

Shock once again filled the room once again, with audible cursing coming from a clearly disgruntled Tsukishima.

“In addition,” Ittetsu added. “If you render your opponent unconscious for longer than a minute, the match will be paused. You will not win unless your opponent unconditionally surrenders. If they are rendered incapable of surrendering due to whatever occurs, the match will be paused until the opponent is once again capable of surrendering.”

_ The rules were very strange, _Hinata thought. Lucky for him, though, they gave him a sort of unknown advantage. He could pass the phase through the strength of his will alone, which was something not every applicant had.

Ittetsu finished his explanation finally, leaving Hinata time to formulate a plan for victory. Being towards the end of the bracket left open a lot of mysteries as to who he would be facing, so he began attempting to determine the outcome of the set matches based on his knowledge of the bracket. He was placed on the A bracket, meaning the top seeded applicant on that side was… Tsukishima. Hinata tried to avoid panic entering his thought process, but he couldn’t help hyperventilating slightly. He felt Lev’s hand pat his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

“You okay?” Lev asked.

“Yeah, it’s just…” Hinata sounded worn out already, simply from the concept of having to face Tsukishima.

“It’s alright, Shoyo, just take deep breaths.” Lev said.

Hinata was slightly startled by that.

“Shoyo..?” Hinata asked, confused.

“Oh sorry!” Lev laughed. “Do you not want me to call you by that?”

“No, it’s fine, I just,” Hinata smiled. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Oh well, I just figured you call me Lev already…” Lev trailed off before grinning sheepishly.

Hinata patted Lev on the head.

“Thanks.” Hinata said, and once again looked down at the paper, returning to his thought session.

Hinata hadn’t seen much of Koganegawa’s abilities, but from what he saw back in the forest, he doubted he would be able to stand up against Tsukishima in a one-on-one fight. Tsukishima just had overwhelming strength and speed, whereas Koganegawa just had excellent archery. Hinata decided that Tsukishima’s victory was probably, leaving it to the next match. 

Tsukishima versus Kenma. Hinata honestly wasn’t sure what the result of that one would be, since he knew nothing about Kenma’s combat style. He judged from Kenma’s build that they probably weren’t a close-combat type, but other than that, there were no obvious clues as to what they could do. _ Even if they did have something up their sleeve, would they be able to outclass Tsukishima? Probably not, _Hinata decided. That means the next match is Tsukishima versus Abe.

This one was obvious, since brute strength was not a reliable way to take down Tsukishima. The winner would obviously be Tsukishima.

The next match was also easy to decide, even if it conflicted Hinata a bit. Even though he wanted to believe that Lev would be able to persevere, he knew that Lev was at a massive disadvantage. Lev’s only outstanding ability was his use of poisons, and Tsukishima had already proven that he could easily deal with Lev’s method of delivery. Tsukishima would win.

The match of Tsukishima versus So was difficult to predict, since Hinata knew nothing of So’s abilities other than that he was a close combat person. But since he was seeded so low, Hinata figured that he wasn’t strong enough to defeat Tsukishima, leaving only one other match, one equally a pushover.

_ I’m probably going to have to face Tsukishima, _ Hinata thought.

Terror, fear, panic, they all filled Hinata, but he wrestled control of it.

_ How can I win? _

The answer was simple:

_ Never surrender. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> commence underdog hinata


	15. Father Figure

Tsukishima and Koganegawa were set to be the first match of the tournament. General consensus on the potential outcome was unsteady, as few knew much about either of their capabilities. Hinata was one of the few who knew much about either of them, and as such, he was able to conclude that Tsukishima was the most likely to be the victor. He almost didn’t want to watch the match, considering he knew very well that Tsukishima’s hidden transformation would bare its hideous fangs. 

The rest of the bus ride was eerily silent, momentary gushes of relieved sighs penetrating the tension once the bus had stopped, having arrived at its destination. Hinata’s stomach sloshed slightly, uneasy from the looming challenge ahead of him. The applicants slowly emptied from the bus, awash in somber focus. The building before them had a palatial dignity, an edifice encrusted with ornate embellishments and facades. The applicants were escorted along the driveway and up the stairs that led to the grand entrance to the building, a monumental affair of dark wooden doors framed by an elaborate stone arch. Hinata looked at the features of the building with awe.

“This is the Magnolia Academy Farlands Embassy.” Mr. Ittetsu stated, to no one in particular.

There wasn’t really a response, as the crowd just continued observing their surroundings. They were led through the large entry doors into a spacious hall, and further led down that hall into a large room, with what appeared to be a sandy court located in the center. 

“This is where the fights will take place,” Mr. Ittetsu stated.

The proceedings were stark. Mr. Ittetsu pointed to Tsukishima and Koganegawa, silently instructing them to enter the battlefield. 

“I will be serving as the referee.” He stated, calmly.

Tsukishima and Koganegawa both readied themselves, assuming their battle stance. Koganegawa readied his arm on his bow, eliciting a smirk from Tsukishima.

“You really think you can beat me with a regular bow and arrow?” Tsukishima jeered.

Koganegawa was unfazed. Ittetsu produced a whistle, and, with one sharp blow, the noise rang out.

“Start!” he roared.

The movements from each combatant were swift. A rapid barrage of arrows sprang from Koganegawa’s area, surrounding Tsukishima in a volley of projectiles. Tsukishima somehow managed to dodge each and every one of them, however, and after dodging the volley, he began his monstrous transformation. The crowd of applicants spectating all gasped and sighed in horror as Tsukishima took on his all-too-familiar form, elongating his bones and muscles to freakish proportions, his strength increasing to match his hideous appearance. Koganegawa was momentarily stunned by the sudden transformation, but quickly regained his senses, launching another volley at Tsukishima.

Hinata watched on with horror as memories from the forest flooded his mind.  _ He’s gonna kill him,  _ Hinata thought. He looked to Ittetsu, trying to find any sign of concern, but all he found was the adult watching on with amusement.

Tsukishima was hit by a few of the arrows, but it didn’t seem to have much of an impact on his state. Tsukishima’s freakish limbs attacked next, landing a swift blow to Koganegawa’s stomach. Koganegawa was flung a slight distance, but managed to stick a landing, and he readied several more arrows, preparing to launch another volley of arrows.

“Surely you see how outclassed you are, Koganegawa?” Tsukishima shrieked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” Koganegawa replied, cheekily.

The two combatants were still for a moment, each contemplating their next move.

* * *

  
  


Koganegawa came from a family of martial arts. His father owned a dojo, and his mother had once studied to become a scout, once upon a time. So naturally, it had been expected that Koganegawa would take after his family and study martial arts too. He had spent his entire young childhood looking forward to the day when he could study under his father. Lucky for him, he was also gifted, from birth, with well above average physical strength. All the signs favored him becoming the greatest martial artist the Koganegawa household had ever seen. 

Once he had turned 6, the day had come where he could start training at his father’s dojo. His long awaited chance to follow in his family’s footsteps had arrived. When he finally began training however, he was disheartened to the core by the revelation that occurred. For all his natural strength, his family and fellow trainees watched along and gawked as he was totally unable to articulate and emulate the basic martial arts concepts that were taught to him.  _ He has no coordination,  _ they said.  _ He’s as dumb as a rock,  _ they jeered. Koganegawa was wrecked by this. Slowly, despite his attempts to train and grasp even the basics of martial arts, his family and friends began to shame him and resent him. All he had was raw strength, in their eyes. Still, Koganegawa never gave up in those early years.

When he turned eight, things began to change. His father and mother’s resentment turned to downright hatred. He was the subject of scorn as all their familial aspirations failed to materialize when his mother failed to conceive multiple times. The Koganegawa was stuck with an incompetent idiot as their only child and heir to the Koganegawa Dojo. Daily beatings ensued, with his father forcing Koganegawa into matches with him where his father unleashed grossly disproportionate levels of force, leaving Koganegawa with bruises, scrapes, and occasionally broken bones. Of course, Koganegawa never shared the true cause of these injuries, telling friends they were from training. Koganegawa’s family’s promise turned to hatred, and his friends’ admiration turned to pity.

At age 10, he quit training. Upon this, his father gave up pretenses of training and just beat him whenever he felt like it.

At age 14, Koganegawa participated in a school fair. One of the events was an archery contest, where whoever got the most bullseyes got a special prize. Feeling adventurous, he decided to participate in the contest. 

Despite having never picked up a bow, and knowing little about how they were used, Koganegawa continued. He received some slight instruction on the basics from an instructor, and surprisingly, picked it up quite quickly. He continued and entered in the competition. The participants so far hadn’t fared too well, with not a single student getting a bullseye in any of the 5 chances. Pretty soon, it was Koganegawa’s turn to shoot. He got up to the line where he was supposed to shoot from, and took a deep breath. Whether he knew it or not, this moment was going to prove essential to his life and self-esteem. Readying his shot, he let go, and, to his amazement, the arrow glided gracefully to the spot he had willed it to arrive at. Everyone surrounding him watched in awe as arrow after arrow arrived at its target with ease, splitting successive arrows down the middle.

Koganegawa had discovered some sort of latent talent he never knew he had. Upon discovery of this, his parents’ hatred softened to pride, much to Koganegawa’s disgust. He was determined to now use his newfound talent to become a Scout and try as hard as possible to tarnish and destroy the Koganegawa family name as badly as possible.

* * *

Tsukishima struck first after the brief standstill, launching a flurry of strikes from his limbs. Koganegawa was struck hard by each of these, taking a moment after they ended to gather himself. It was apparent to the crowd watching that the fight was totally one-sided, but Koganegawa was determined to win.

Suddenly, Tsukishima rushed to Koganegawa’s side, whispering in his ear.

“You can’t beat me unless you fight me like your father.”

The rest of the applicants hadn’t heard what Tsukishima said, as it was far too quiet. They could only watch in shock as two words exited Koganegawa’s mouth.

_ “I surrender.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor kanji :(


	16. Common People

The room was pervaded by a deep silence, reflective of everyone’s collective shock at Kogenegawa’s surrender. Hinata looked around desperately, trying to find any signs of the silence opening up from the other applicants. Without warning, Ittetsu called out.

“Koganegawa Kanji has surrendered. Tsukishima Kei wins the first fight.”

Koganegawa had a look of pure rage on his face as he trotted from the court back to the crowd. Goshiki extended a hand out to him, seemingly offering comfort, but he rudely slapped the hand back. 

“What the hell was that?” Kageyama asked coldly.

Koganegawa shot him a fierce glare, effectively silencing Kageyama for the time being.

Muttered talk filled the room eventually, as the applicants began speculating the words that had garnered Tsukishima a victory. Hinata too wondered what the monster had said to Koganegawa.

“What do you think happened?” Hinata asked.

“I’m not sure.” Lev said, scratching his chin. “I don’t think Koganegawa would have won either way though.”

“He’s a monster!” Yachi chimed in.

Hinata turned to the court to watch as Tsukishima slowly reverted back to this normal form, hideous buttresses of bone and muscle retreating into gaping wounds. Blood trickled to the floor as the tissue repaired itself, slowly closing up. The scar tissue was discolored, but it would soon heal to Tsukishima’s deathly pale skin tone. The next match was due to start soon, and this time it would be the first one from the B bracket. Kageyama vs. Kindaichi.

“Alright, then.” Ittetsu announced. “The next match will be Kageyama Tobio and Kindaichi Yu. Please approach the court.”

The two applicants appeared from the crowd, each walking at approximately the same speed towards the court. Kindaichi scowled at Kageyama when their eyes met, his face a pure picture of disgust and contempt.

“Who do you think is gonna win?” Lev asked.

“It’s gonna be Kageyama.” HInata said, sternly.

“Begin!”

The fight started with a quick lunge from Kindaichi, who attempted to land a striking blow to Kageyama’s torso. Kageyama swiftly dodged it, however, and grabbed Kindaichi’s arm in a precise maneuver, shoving him to the floor. Kindaichi struggled for a moment, but managed to throw Kageyama off him, and added some distance between them.

“I bet you think you can easily beat me.” Kindaichi spat, full of venom.

Kageyama did not dignify him with a response. He launched a needle towards Kindaichi, aiming for his neck. Kindaichi dodged it, however, and began running towards Kageyama.

“How does it feel to miss a shot,  _ King _ ?” Kindaichi growled. Kageyama froze for a second, allowing Kindaichi to land a severe blow to his stomach. Kageyama gasped, before reflexively jabbing a needle into Kindaichi’s arm. Kindaichi howled, parrying backwards.

“You bitch!” Kindaichi snarled. He once again ran toward Kageyama before tackling him to the ground. Kageyama easily recovered however, and swiftly brought distance between them before unleashing a quick barrage of needles on his opponent. Kindaichi struggled to react, still slow from the recoil of his attack, and received the full blow of the projectiles. HIs muscles tensed upon being stuck with the needles.

“What did you do to me?” Kindaichi yelled. “You arrogant motherfucker, what did you do to me, I can’t-” Kindaichi was cut off by a needle landing right in his forehead, immediately knocking him out.

Kageyama walked towards Kindaichi and began pulling out each of the needles he had attacked him with. Ittetsu looked on, concerned.

“He’s just unconscious.” Kageyama said, “The needles aren’t heavy enough to pierce bone.”

Ittetsu nodded and gave a thumbs up as Kageyama pulled out the needle stuck in Kindaichi’s forehead. Abruptly, his opponent awakened. Kageyama had him pinned to the ground, preventing him from moving.

“You’re outclassed, Yu.” Kageyama said.

“You bastard!” Kindaichi yelled out, briefly struggling, but it was no use. “Does it feel good?” he growled.

“What?” Kageyama asked in confusion.

“Does it feel good at the top of the summit? Huh? Removed from the peasants beneath you,  _ King _ ?” his tone was full of hate and vitriol.

Kageyama tightened his grip and slammed Kindaichi into the ground brutally.

“Fine,” Kindaichi muttered. “You win.”

Kageyama signalled to Ittetsu that Kindaichi had surrendered, and like that, the match was over.

“Kindaichi Yu loses. Kageyama Tobio is the winner!”

* * *

Kindaichi was a boy of modest talent. He was above average in height and build, but not extraordinary, he never had been. Even as a boy, he was always just “above average”. But even though he never particularly excelled at anything, he always had one dream above all: to be someone people could call a hero. When he learned about Scouts for the first time, he didn’t care too much. They didn’t save people, so why should he care? 

It was later he found out about the many types of rescue missions Scouts went on, and that was what got him intrigued about them. Kindaichi entered many types of sports, doing fairly well in them and developing a reputation for his athleticism, but it wasn’t anything amazing for a kid his age. So he decided that even if he isn’t a genius, he would work hard to become something great. Soon, it became time for him to choose a middle school to enroll in. Middle school was commonly the time in which aspiring scouts began deviating from the path of standard education, and began specializing in combat. Kindaichi, of course, wanted to enroll in a Scouting academy, and so he studied and trained as hard as he possibly could, building up strength and absorbing fighting techniques. By the summer of entrance exams, he had become the strongest kid in his neighborhood. 

The time for the entrance exams came not long after that, and naturally, the test was in the form of a combat tournament. He was applying to the most prestigious middle school for scouting in the country, and competition was stiff. But Kindaichi had hours upon hours of training ahead of the other applicants, and one by one, he defeated them in the tournament. It was not long before he found himself in the semi-finals, and, after a hard-earned victory, in the finals. He knew the finals would be difficult, and he wondered what type of opponent he would face. Kageyama Tobio, as it turns out, was entirely the opposite of Kindaichi. The descendant of a long line of highly ranked Scouts, Kageyama was the result of countless generations of prestige and skill accumulated into one prodigious child. Kageyama was naturally talented at almost everything, combat, theory, strategy, history, and much more. For all of Kindaichi’s hard earned skill, Kageyama had it naturally tenfold.

The resulting final match was a one-sided beatdown, with Kageyama playing a brutal part in the match. Even as Kindaichi struggled and rose after each attack, Kageyama beat him down mercilessly, each time more vicious than the last. Kageyama eventually brought out his throwing knives, launching them at Kindaichi to corner him, and brutally beating him whenever he got the chance. Eventually, Kageyama managed to pin Kindaichi down, and promptly spent the rest of the match slamming his opponents face into the ground until the referees eventually called the match. Kindaichi had to be hospitalized after the match, with permanent nerve damage to his face. The brutality he experienced left a mark on him mentally afterwards, but that didn’t stop him completely.

He was, despite his loss, admitted to the academy with honors, having ranked higher than any student in the exams except Kageyama.

When the school year started, he attempted to befriend the elites of the school, the ones who got in through recommendations, and, critically, Kageyama himself. 

Every attempt he made to socialize with Kageyama failed, with him always responding coldly or seeming annoyed. His attempts to socialize with elites went just as well too, with most of them refusing to even talk to him. While he was met with rejection from the elites, Kageyama was welcomed by them, largely due to his prestigious background. Kindaichi still tried to make friends with Kageyama, however, and despite his lack of success with the elites, he was popular with the other students.

Eventually, however, his elite classmates snapped. Tired of his unwanted lessons, a group of elites decided to ambush him after class. Ruthlessly, they beat him, bloodied him, trashed his belongings and work, and left him tied to a light post on the street. He spent the rest of the day trying to get the attention of anyone nearby, but there was no one near to help him. It was about an hour he spent there, bloodied and aching, when someone approached from the street. It was Kageyama, having finished with sparring and heading to the bus stop. Kageyama noticed Kindaichi and stopped to look at him. 

“You should’ve stayed in line.” He said, before walking away.

That moment seared a burning hatred in Kindaichi’s heart, a boundless rage that would take aim at anyone deemed “elite” or “privileged”

Kindaichi continued to suffer at the hands of the strong, a punishment placed upon him by the elites for daring to try to be like them.

He didn’t care though. After all, there’s always a bigger fish.

* * *

  
  


Kageyama walked away from the court, seemingly stoic and unbothered. As he returned to the side of his teammates, he finally allowed himself to feel a bit. He harbored remorse, but didn’t regret winning.  _ It was necessary,  _ he thought.

“Who was that?” Goshiki asked.

“Just some nobody.” Kageyama replied, heart full of sorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yyayyyyy new chapter :DDDDD
> 
> I'm gonna use these matches to provide backstories and flesh out the characters other than the main ones, hope y'all like that.


	17. My Body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY
> 
> TW: SEXUAL VIOLENCE, SELF HARM, MURDER, ETC
> 
> nothing is explicit, but still wanted to warn y'all

The next match was that between Tsukishima and the enigmatic Kozuma Kenma. Hinata knew little about Kenma’s abilities, but recognized a seemingly monotonous demeanor from the applicant, as if devoid of any emotions. From the looks of it, nobody else really knew of his abilities either. The collective crowd was still reeling from the one-sided victory of Kageyama, shocked at the difference in abilities between two of the individuals still deemed to be the top of the applicants’ class. Ittetsu himself was impressed by the domination, calling out the victory with great enthusiasm, leaving little time for the combatants to meditate on their match. Shortly after, he spoke again.

“Next, Tsukishima Kei and Kozuma Kenma!” 

The monstrous Tsukishima and the androgynous Kenma approached the battlefield, each displaying an eerie calm. There was an unspoken tension, as if each were holding back some massive unknown power, but the outcome of the battle could not be immediately sensed. Hinata looked on, somehow keen of the hidden strength possessed by Kenma. He immediately became aware that his prior predictions of the match may prove wrong.

“Start!” Ittetsu barked.

Something strange happened. Without warning, Tsukishima flinched. Wide-eyed with confusion, Tsukishima attempted to begin his transformation, all the while Kenma remained still. However, his transformation halted as Tsukishima was thrown backward once more. Hinata swore for a moment he caught the slightest hint of movement from Kenma. Tsukishima spat up a wad of slimy blood. Tsukishima was thrown around by a flurry of seemingly unseen blows, leaving the audience gasping in confusion. 

“What are you doing?” Tsukishima snarled out at Kenma. Kenma remained unbothered and still as Tsukishima continued to suffer blows at the hand of the unseen force.

Hinata became aware of Kenma’s abilities at that instant. _ Speed, _ he thought. _ Overwhelming speed. _ Such supersonic speed should not be possible, but then again, there were many things in the exam that should not have been possible. There was something kept secret from people that the examiners knew, something that allows for such incredible power. 

“You have such a disgusting body.” Kenma spoke, blankly.

* * *

  
  


There was a time when Tsukishima was what could be considered normal. He was raised by a fairly nondescript household of two loving parents, with an older brother who was as nice and charismatic as could be. Tsukishima was a bright boy, always eager to learn and analyze his surroundings. 

He was always rather naive, however, and usually made friends with the wrong types of people, those who would take his kindness for granted, but there was one friend who was as sincere as Tsukishima believed all people to be: his best friend, Yamaguchi. The two lived in the same neighborhood and always played together growing up, so it was natural that they would become good friends. Still, Tsukishima always seemed to find trouble wherever he went, and it caused his friend and family to worry for him.

Middle School would be the culmination of his naivete. He had stayed a little late after school working on some assignments in the school library, and had finished ahead of his expected time. On the way out of the school, he was approached by who looked to be an older man, unfamiliar to him, probably a high school or college student. 

“Hey, are you a student here?” the man asked.

“Yeah, I am, why?” Tsukki said. The man seemed friendly enough, so he had no reason not to talk to him.

“Oh, I was just asking. My little brother is gonna start going here soon.” he continued. “My name is Yoshihiro, by the way.” he extended his hand.

“Tsukishima.” 

“Do you need a walk home?” Yoshihiro offered.

“Sure, I guess. All my friends are already home by now.”

The strange pair began walking together. Tsukki noticed Yoshi’s closeness throughout the walk, always shuffling up against him or brushing against his arm and stuff like that. It was odd, but Tsukki just interpreted it as him feeling comfortable, or accidental. Suddenly, Yoshi gripped his wrist. They were right by an intersection in a quiet part of the neighborhood.

“What are you doing?” Tsukishima asked.

“You’re so pretty Tsukishima.” Yoshi said, voice quivering.

“What?” Tsukki said, confused. The grip on his wrist was getting tighter. Yoshi grabbed him quickly and dragged him around the corner. Tsukishima was getting worried now.

“I want you.” cried a now maddened Yoshi.

“Let go of me!” Tsukki protested.

Yoshi pulled themselves into a small alley where he threw Tsukishima on the ground violently. Tsukishima momentarily attempted to crawl away before being kicked down by Yoshi. 

“Take off your clothes.” Yoshi commanded.

About an hour passed before Yoshi finally finished with Tsukishima, leaving him bloodied, bruised, and violated beyond belief. After all was said and done, Tsukishima was flooded with words of praise from Yoshi, over and over. Pain seared throughout his body. Unable to move, he just lay there as Yoshi finally walked away. Tsukki spent some time there just sobbing, completely giving in to despair. 

That day, when he got home, his parents were understandably worried, but of course he didn’t give a detail about the events that transpired, so they just assumed it was another bully incident. His parents tried their best to be supportive, but Tsukishima began to feel the seeds of resentment planting in his belly.

Yoshi would become a recurrent affair, with the monster stalking him from school. The abuse was prolonged and routine. After a week of violation, Tsukki himself became pregnant with hatred, which itself began consuming his soul. Something began to change within his body. 

_ My body is… disgusting. _

Self-mutilation gave way to strange mutation, as his hatred gave physical form to how he viewed himself, and thus, his horrific power was born. It was not long after his first transformation that his personality changed permanently, replacing the kindness and naivete of his former self with cruelty and violence.

All this time, the only person who provided him any kind of solace was Yamaguchi, who never asked questions, never judged, just stayed by his side. 

The second week, he finally killed Yoshi.

The third week, his parents went “missing”.

He started living with Yamaguchi after that.

His school behavior became more violent, becoming a terrorizing menace on any student who dared to look at him.

His combat prowess increased.

Scouts are strong too.

_ I will be a scout. _

* * *

Several minutes had passed. Tsukishima had long since been incapacitated, but the barrage continued nonetheless. 

Suddenly, without warning, Hinata felt something horrible. A wave of pure fear, an aura of overwhelming malice, something pure- a desire to kill. He struggled to react to his surroundings as chaos developed around him. One by one, people began to fall and groan out in pain. An applicant arose out of this chaos, clearly within Hinata’s vision. The unknowns, Kyotani Kentaro and Kozuma Kenma were rampaging now. Ittetsu lay thrown to the side, a bloodied mess, and several other applicants were strewn aside as well, severely injured. Hinata was full of shock. The exam had suddenly been thrown on its head by a pair of rogue applicants, and now they had to fend for themselves against the two rogues. Kentaro was a fierce and savage fighter, brutally beating applicants even long after they had been rendered helpless. 

“What do we do?” Lev asked, full of fear.

Hinata didn’t know what could be done. Kenma’s speed would not let them escape, so they had no choice.

Kageyama, Goshiki, Koganegawa, Rin, Yachi, and Hinata would have to fight them off.


	18. Black Hole Sun

The group had little time to formulate a strategy. Kenma and Kentaro were viciously attacking everyone around them. They had to quickly come up with some sort of counter to them, or they would quickly be taken out as well. Their opponents’ abilities were difficult to counter, Hinata realized. Kenma seemed to be graced with supersonic speed, while Kentaro was a savage arsenal of raw strength. Both fairly simple gifts, but their skill at utilizing them was what made the situation so dire. 

Hinata took a quick tally of the remaining fighters. Kageyama was a valuable player, with his pinpoint precision and extraordinary combat prowess. Koganegawa was skilled at a range, utilizing his arrows quite skillfully, but seemed to be in bad condition from his earlier fight with Tsukishima. Yachi was already providing support by diverting attention to her, while she reliably evaded each attack from Kentaro. Rin was a bit of a mystery, but he seemed to be rather weak, so he couldn’t be counted on. Goshiki however, seemed to be one of the strongest there was left, with her brute strength and skill in martial arts. Still, even with the wealth of able fighters, Hinata couldn’t think of anything.

“What do we do?” Lev asked. He didn’t seem to be asking Hinata, but instead turned to Kageyama, asking for guidance.

* * *

  
  


_ The fighters left are all unspecialized, _ Kageyama thought. He would have to come up with a strategy quickly. He might even have to use _ that. _

Kageyama quickly considered his options. The most immediate baggage was clearly Hinata and Rin. 

“What do we do?” asked the silver haired boy from the previous stage. _ What was his name? _He briefly thought.

“Alright.” Kageyama inhaled. “Hinata and Rin, you two need to stay back.” 

The two looked noticeably dejected. Hinata looked like he was about to protest, but Kageyama quickly cut him off.

“You two are the most vulnerable of the lot of us. It’d be best for you to stay out of our way.” Kageyama turned to Goshiki. “Tsutomi, I want you to take care of the brute one. Wait until the girl has him totally distracted and quickly knock him out.” 

Goshiki nodded, quickly running off to where Yachi was engaging with Kentaro.

“The rest of us will need to figure a way to brute force the girly boy.” the group shifted suddenly with unease, as a cold aura suddenly ebbed in their direction. Kenma had finished with the group he was previously attacking, having left them all knocked on the floor, possibly dead.

“NOW!” Kageyama barked. The group immediately began their assault on the one man army, with Kanji attempting support from a distance. As Kageyama and Lev charged in, Kanji’s volley of arrows met Kenma’s apparition, failing to even make contact. The arrows meekly deflected off the body, falling to the ground with a pathetic snap. Kageyama was met with several blows while charging in, taking note of the blows. _ While they’re fast, they aren’t particularly strong. _ He thought. He noticed a pattern developing in the blows. Lev was attempting to launch his poisonous planes, but the whirring of Kenma’s speed prevented them from taking an orderly path. _ I got it, _Kageyama revelled. He had determined the pattern of Kenma’s attacks, and, in one swift motion, jabbed several of his needles in Kenma’s arm as the next blow beckoned. Kenma let out a shriek of pain.

“You still up, silver-hair?” Kageyama asked. Lev got up, somewhat weakly, but he was still able to fight.

For whatever reason, the attack on Kenma’s arm had weakened him in some way, as his movements slowed significantly, now being perceptible to Kageyama and some of the other fighters. 

“These are my last arrows!” Kanji called out. Kageyama immediately rushed in towards Kenma, trying to secure him so the volley could meet its target. He tackled Kenma, finally being able to make contact with his body, and jabbed in a needle on Kenma’s neck. The pain momentarily stunned Kenma still, allowing Kanji to fire a volley of arrows that landed perfectly on their target. Kenma was, for now, incapacitated.

  
  


* * *

Yachi was having a difficult time continuing to dodge Kentaro’s attacks. Even though his movements were simple, it seemed he grew in ferocity with every passing moment. Goshiki was waiting just out of Kentaro’s vision, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. It seemed that she was able to go unnoticed by Kentaro, who seemed so focused on Yachi, his eyes maddened with intent to kill. 

Yachi continued dodging, until she fumbled, losing her footing on what seemed to be the body of one of the other applicants.

“Shit!” she cursed, stumbling, and as a result, taking a huge blow from Kentaro. She coughed out in pain, sputtering up a hint of blood, before panicking and trying to regain her footing, but she was simply met with another blow from Kentaro. 

_ This is bad, _ Goshiki thought to herself. _ I need to intervene. _

Yachi continued to fail at regaining her composure, being repeatedly beaten by Kentaro. Where once she had an evasive edge, she was now perpetually one step behind Kentaro. She needed support, ASAP. 

On the other side of the fight, Yachi heard what sounded like some semblance of victory. It was then that Goshiki lunged out from her hiding place, grabbing onto Kentaro with not even the slightest semblance of elegance, the fight turning desperate. _ This is life or death, _Goshiki thought. Mustering every ounce of strength and willpower, she grabbed onto Kentaro’s head, and, with great force, snapped his neck.

There was a hopeless look of horror on her face as Kentaro’s head twisted backwards, staring at her with a wide grin, before he let out a maniacal laugh.

* * *

  
  


Hinata was stuck with Rin, hiding in a corner, angrily observing the battle his fellow applicants were engaging in. Even though he knew he wasn’t as strong as them, he still desperately wanted to help. _ It’s not right, _he thought, seeing the struggle his friends were having against these fearsome opponents. His desire was burning up inside of him.

“Don’t.” Rin suddenly said. Hinata looked at him with an angry glare.

“We have to do something.” Hinata reasoned.

“What can we even do? We’re weak, and everyone knows it.”

“How can you even say that?” HInata yelled. “We are here to be Scouts!”

Hinata’s blood was boiling now. He couldn’t let the others surpass him. He wasn’t weak, he reasoned. _ Even I can be of use, _ he thought. _ No, I will be of use! _

Burning willpower surged through his body, on the verge of leaking out. His determination was birthing something, something he was missing, something that could give him the tools needed to match his ambition.

There was a hidden nature to Scouts that everyone suspects. Hinata had begun to see the cracks in the typical perception of the nature of the world, spurred on by the unnatural abilities of Kenma and the hideous abomination that was Tsukishima’s transformation. There was something tremendous that was hidden from the normal world, but it was impossible to articulate the true nature of this secret. Now, with Hinata’s burgeoning rage and will, this secret was about to be birthed from the pregnant womb of his ambition and frustration.

In the moment that this power began to well from Hinata’s body, Rin shrieked.

His eyes stung, his brain shattered.

It was as if he was staring at a million burning suns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help but write another chapter this week :P
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy, and if possible, leave comments! They help me stay motivated to write!


	19. Little Wonder, Part One

Kageyama was blinded and overwhelmed by an immensely bright light coming from somewhere in the battlefield. Heat rays began to spread throughout the room. Every combatant, friend and foe alike, were stopped in their tracks by the immense light. They looked around, desperately trying to find the source of the light and heat. Kageyama looked to the corner where Rin and Hinata had been, seeing the source immediately.

Hinata was glowing, quite literally burning. Upon making contact with his eyes, Kageyama sensed the overwhelming rage and frustration seeping from them, stunned at this development.

“What the fuck is happening?” Lev said, dazed and horrified. Something strange had happened to Hinata.

Kageyama had a slight clue as to what may have occurred, but he had only heard rumors of it before. 

“We need to take cover,” Kageyama said. “Now!”

Lev and Kageyama ran quickly in the opposite direction of Hinata, who was now beginning to walk towards Kyotaro and Goshiki, who had previously been engaged in a fight. Kyotaro seemed to briefly come to his senses upon seeing Hinata, tinged with what could’ve only been fear.

The powerful flash that ensued blinded almost everyone temporarily. Hinata had unleashed what could only be described as a massive wave of energy, aimed directly at Kyotaro. He was instantly defeated. 

“What the hell is going on with Hinata?” Lev asked.

“It’s hard to explain.” Kageyama said, breathing heavily. “They probably didn’t want something like this to happen.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Lev snarled.

“It’s complicated. You’ve seen Tsukishima, yes?” Kageyama said.

“Yes.”

“Well the best I can say is that something similar is happening.” Kageyama continued. “I had no idea the runt would be capable of something like this.”

“What are you trying to say?” Lev yelled.

They were cut off as the light and heat only continued to grow stronger and stronger, eventually shifting towards the now revived Kenma. 

“W-w-w-w-Wai-” Kenma was cut off by another deafening blast of energy.

The applicants were fearful now. Had they underestimated Hinata?

Kageyama knew very well that the situation had to be controlled, but he knew no way to possibly pacify Hinata while he was in this state.

Hinata himself had no awareness of his current state, having blacked out not long after he had begun leaking energy. His body was a glowing mass of pulsating plasma, vaguely resembling his prior shape. What appeared to be liquid energy constantly seeped from his feet, forming a burning river that flowed around him. He was annihilating anything in his path.

Suddenly, a loud bang sounded, and the room began to fill with gas.

Everything went black.

* * *

Hinata awoke in a strange room, one that appeared similar to a hospital. He had no memory of what happened after he blacked out. All he could remember were his friends struggling to defeat the rogue applicants. He looked around, seeing a delicate woman sat next to his bed, dressed in medical garb.

“Who are you? What happened? The tes-” Hinata was cut off.

“Good, you’re awake.” the woman stood up. “My name is Muuri Mazanga, I am a nurse here at Magnolia Academy.”

“Wh-”

“I’m sure you have many questions.” she cut him off “I will try to answer them to the best of my ability.”

“What happened to the rogue ones?” Hinata asked, somewhat frustrated from being continually cut off by the woman.

“Ah, Kozuma Kenma and Kyotani Kentaro. They are second years here at Magnolia Academy.” she said, nonchalantly.

“I don’t understand?” Hinata said.

“They were placed in the exams to serve as the true test for the final stage.” she continued. “Anything else?”

“What happened?” HInata asked. “I don’t remember anything.”

“Well that’s something I can’t entirely tell you. You blacked out due to a certain… thing. It is not my place to explain it. You should leave that to your teachers.”

“Teachers? Does that m-”

“Yes, you passed. In fact, so did everyone else.” she began stretching. “I believe you’d be happy to know no applicants were killed during the final stage, although Kenma and Kentaro were very, very badly injured.” she smiled slightly, as if she found something amusing about the second years’ defeat. “I must be leaving now. If you are feeling well enough, you may head down the hall. They will be giving an introductory speech there soon.”

The woman swiftly exited the room. 

Hinata was sore all over, but he was still bubbling with excitement.  _ I passed! _ He decided he needed to attend the welcome assembly, and he absolutely needed to find out what happened while he blacked out. The last thing he remembered was… Rin screaming? He had no idea what it all meant. 

Hinata stumbled out of the bed he had been laying on. It took him a while to gain his balance.  _ How long was I out?  _ He wondered. He slowly walked out of the room and into the hallway, which was large and spacious. The building seemed to be different from the one they took the exam in, meaning that they were possibly transported back to the mainland from the farlands testing facility. As much as the farlands had been intriguing, Hinata was glad to finally be back in safe territory.

He walked for a while down the hallway before eventually locating the assembly hall. Once he entered, he saw all the applicants that he had known in the final stage, but there were also a few people he didn’t recognize.

“Ah! Hinata Shoyo, welcome! We were just about to start!” A voice from the front of the room called to him. It was Mr. Ittetsu. Hinata had many things he wanted to ask, but he was escorted to a seat from behind by who appeared to be another faculty. Lev waved at him from another seat, Hinata waved back, and relocated to sit next to him.

“I’m glad you’re okay!” Lev said.

Hinata didn’t have time to ask him what he meant, because Ittetsu started the presentation immediately after.

“Alright!” he cleared his throat. “I’m sure some of you have important questions about what exactly happened during the final phase of the exam.” he gestured to the side door. The door swung open and Kentaro and Kenma emerged, causing the entire room to flinch. Kentaro glanced at HInata with a deathly scowl. 

“First years, meet Kozuma Kenma and Kyotani Kentaro. They are second years here at Magnolia Academy, and were asked to help facilitate the final phase of this year’s exam.”

The room sighed at that, having built up tension, but some had feelings of outrage. Seemingly right as protest was about to begin, Ittetsu began speaking again.

“I’m sure many of you were fearful during the final phase, but this was essential to showing administrators how you all truly acted in crisis situations.”

The room grew silent again.

“Now, on to the most pressing matter. I’m sure you all, or at least those who were lucid at the time it occurred, have questions about the final moments of the final phase, specifically the display caused by Hinata Shoyo-”

Hinata gulped.

_ What the fuck is happening? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :DDDDDD


	20. Little Wonder, Part Two

Hinata was now thoroughly confused. First he had blacked out, now Ittetsu is saying he’s the one who ended the final phase? He needed explanations now.

“Um, e-” Hinata was cut off.

“As many of you may have noticed, there is a certain secret closely guarded by Scouts, one you might have begun to caught on to during the exam.” Ittetsu started. “Strange beasts, foreign excursions, fantastic transformations- much like the one many of you had witnessed in Tsukishima Kei.”

Eyes began widening.

“Magic is real.” Ittetsu stated.

Upset began taking over, gasps and mutters taking over the room.

“=or at least something like it.” Ittetsu cleared his throat. “Scouts have closely guarded this secret for decades, and now, as students at Magnolia Academy, you will be part of the select few who are taught to use this power.” Ittetsu pointed directly at Hinata.

Hinata blushed. 

“Normally, people seeking to train in these arts must endure special training to unlock even the slightest usage of spirit energy. However, in extremely rare circumstances, an individual may accidentally activate themself, be it due to trauma, or other significant events. An even smaller percentage are able to channel spirit energy at birth. There are further explanations required, but that much will be left to your actual instructors.” Ittetsu paused for a moment. “Also- please do not pester Hinata with any questions about this matter, we suspect he was not aware of any of this beforehand.” he shuffled a bit. “Now, onto normal affairs. Here at Magnolia Academy, you will be trained in Scouting, but you will also be enrolled in history, mathematics, and language classes as well. In addition to academic classes organized by age, you will also be tested to determine your spirit type, and afterward, will be placed into specialized classes for your spirit type along with other students both first years, second years, and third years alike. You may find yourself significantly behind at first, but your seniors will also aid in you in your education and training. Now, if you may all organize yourselves in a single file line, I will be escorting you around the premises and showing you where all your classes are located, as well as the dorms. There are no assigned dorms, you may choose as you wish, just please do not fight over them.”

Hinata was dazed, completely overwhelmed with the information.  _ Spirit energy?  _ He thought.  _ What does that have to do with me? _

The information swirled around in Hinata’s head like a churning typhoon, leaving him completely frazzled. He hoped his classes would help him understand the situation better.

Everyone began getting out of their seats and lining up, and after a short while, they exited the room. The group of new students followed Ittetsu around as they explored the premises, being shown around to their classes and other facilities such as the gym, library, and laboratories.

After a while, they finally arrived at the lodging wing.

“Each room has two bunk beds, meaning four people per room. The boys should be able to pick their rooms, girls, there are only four of you, so you will all be roomed together.”

Kanji stirred.

“Um, sir, what about Goshiki?” Kanji said, respectfully.

Ittetsu ignored him.

“The rest of you boys, please sort out your arrangements. I trust you will be mature about this. I will be taking my leave now, as I have matters to attend to.” Ittetsu swiftly left.

Chatter erupted shortly afterward. Hinata immediately knew he wanted to be roommates with Lev, so they took one of the rooms together. The rooms were neat and organized, having the two bunk beds and accompanying night stands. Each room had a bathroom attached, as well as a closet with four partitions for each roommate. Hinata immediately plopped on the bottom left bunk, exhausted from the past few days.

“Who do you think is gonna end up with us?” Lev asked, putting away some of his things.

“I hope that bakayama doesn’t go near us.” Hinata said, scowling.

The noisy arguing outside the dorm room was deafening, with many fighting about which room would be theirs. Thankfully, nobody raised an issue with Hinata about his pick, so they simply waited inside and tidied their things. Hinata hadn’t brought much stuff, just some clothes. From what he knew, the school uniforms would be delivered to them in the morning. Suddenly, a timid noise came from the doorway, just barely loud enough to be heard.

“Do you mind if I room with you guys?” Rin came out slowly, seemingly cowering.

“Oh. Yeah sure! Shoyo?” Lev turned to HInata, seemingly seeking approval.

“Yeah!” HInata said, excitedly.

“Thanks!” Rin smiled. He walked over to the closet and began putting away his things.

“So Lev…” Hinata started.

“Huh?”

“Did you see what happened in that last phase of the exam?” Hinata asked.

Lev thought back to the fiery encounter, Hinata’s burning silhouette annihilating everything in the room.

“No.” he lied. “I got knocked out by Kenma.”

“Oh.” Hinata said, sounding dejected. “It’s crazy that they pulled that twist.” Hinata mumbled.

“Yeah,” Lev said, closing one of the drawers. “I couldn’t have seen that coming.”

“And all this talk about spirit this and that,” Hinata continued. “It seems pretty crazy? I mean I always knew there was something secret about Scouts, but this is more than I expected.”

“You think we’re gonna get cool powers?” Lev asked, smiling.

“Maybe,” Hinata paused a moment. “No, definitely.”

The two were cut off by the sudden chiming.

“I finished putting away my stuff!” Rin beamed. He walked from out of the closet and climbed up the bunk bed across from Hinata, plopping himself down contentedly.

The chatter from outside had died down considerably, with most having found their bearings. A booming voice came from the hallway as a person entered their room.

“Hey, uh, nobody wanted me to room with them. Can I bunk with you guys?” It was Goshiki.

Hinata scowled. Lev noticed this, and looked to Goshiki again.

“Sure, absolutely!” Lev said, in spite of Hinata’s silent protest.

“Oh gosh, thanks!” Goshiki continued walking into the room. “You don’t mind that I’m a girl?”

“Nah it’s fine. It is weird that they didn’t send you to room with the other girls though.” Lev walked over to flick Hinata. “Shoyo doesn’t mind, right?”

“Fine.” Hinata mumbled.

“Thanks so much!” Goshiki said.

Once everyone had finished putting away their stuff, it had quickly become nighttime. Everyone was totally exhausted, so sleep came quickly.

Tomorrow was going to be a very eventful day for all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final part of Little Wonder will arrive later this week, and thus, the First Semester arc will officially begin!
> 
> pls comment and also follow my tumblr, garcia-blog-2020


	21. Little Wonder, Part Three

The morning greeted Hinata with faint rays and dull ambience, betraying the startling awakening caused by the loud, ringing alarm. It was early morning, the sun had only just begun to rise. Hinata groaned and shuffled in his bed.

“Do we really have to get up so early?” he mumbled. Lev was already rising from the bottom bunk, seemingly unfazed.

“C’mon Shoyo, we gotta get ready for our first class.” Lev said. Laid out neatly on the end tables were their freshly delivered uniforms, each tailored specifically to their bodies. On the other side of the room, Rin was begrudgingly waking up, while Goshiki seemed to already have been up before the rest, as she was nowhere to be seen.

Hinata grabbed his uniform quickly, dashing to the bathroom.

“I got dibs on the first shower!” Hinata called out, much to Lev’s dissatisfaction.

“Goshiki technically already got the first one,” Lev mumbled. He turned to Rin. “How did you sleep?”

“Oh, I slept ok. Pretty bad actually. I’m still rattled by everything that happened.” 

Hinata’s shower didn’t take long. After drying off, he began putting on the uniform. It was a pretty standard outfit, dark grey slacks with an off-white button up and a dark grey jacket that matched the pants. There was a tie as well, but Hinata didn’t feel like wearing it, he assumed it was optional anyways. After he finished getting dressed, he stepped out and called to Lev.

“Shower’s free!” 

Lev quickly darted to the bathroom.

“How’s the uniform? Is it comfy?” Lev asked while taking off his shirt.

“It’s alright, I guess. Better than middle school.” Hinata replied.

* * *

Lev and Hinata were finished getting ready, and finally left the room to begin heading to their first class. According to what they had heard yesterday, their first day would be occupied entirely by a preliminary assessment, as if they hadn’t already gone through enough. The two boys headed down the hallway, eventually making their way to one of the courtyards where the bulk of the other first years were located. They quickly joined the crowd, who were sat on large bleachers in front of the court, which had a battlefield in the center. There was a member of faculty located in front of the crowd, a man with bleached blonde hair tied back.

“Are we still waiting for everyone else?” the man asked.

Hinata and Lev sat down. After a few minutes, Rin and a few other first years finally arrived. The instructor motioned as if counting the people, and then displayed a contented look on his face.

“Alright, looks like everyone is here!” the man cleared his throat.

“My name is Ukai Keishin, you will be referring to me as Mr. Ukai-Kei.” Ukai shuffled slightly. “I am going to be administering these preliminary examinations. Now, it is important to note that this is not exactly a test, but rather an initiation. I’m sure you all heard about the existence of spirit energy yesterday. Aura, Chi, Magic, whatever you want to call it, it exists, and for practical purposes, we here refer to it as spirit energy. Anyways, today I will be aiding in activating your bodies to be able to use spirit energy.”

The crowd of students gasped.

“But first, I must address something, as there are some students among us who are already capable of using spirit energy. Tsukishima Kei, Kageyama Tobio, Skyaev Vasily, Miya Suzumi, Muuri Kiko, and Hiro Ria, you six may return to your dorms temporarily. Another faculty member will come by your rooms and ask you for information regarding your ability with spirit energy.”

The aforementioned students rose from their seats and walked away wordlessly. Hinata recognized Kageyama and Tsukishima, but he wasn’t sure who the other ones were.

“Those students must have gotten in on recommendations.” Lev whispered to him.

HInata hadn’t known about that.  _ Muuri,  _ Hinata thought.  _ I wonder if she’s related to the nurse. _

“Alright!” Ukai exclaimed. “We’re gonna start with this first row. You, first!” he pointed to Inuoka Sou, who appeared equal parts shocked and excited. He walked up to the instructor.

“This shouldn’t hurt too much.” Ukai said.

Ukai began pressing around Inuoka’s neck, seemingly searching for something specific. Finally, he jammed his fingers into Inuoka’s neck. Although forceful, this somehow didn’t cause Inuoka any pain.

“That’s it?” Inuoka said. “I don’t feel any different.”

“You must be patient, this is a multi-step process.”

  
  


Ukai continued this process on the rest of the first years, each spot being slightly different from the last. After a while, he finally arrived on Hinata, who had been eagerly awaiting.

“Oh, you don’t need this part.” Ukai said, blankly.

“Why not?” Hinata pouted.

“You’re already partially activated.” he motioned for the next student to replace Hinata.

It took another 15 minutes for him to finish with all the students, who had returned to their seats.

“Alright! Now that the first part of this has been completed, it’s on to the next part. This bit is a bit abstract, so you’re gonna have to follow carefully.” Ukai clapped his hands together. “Spirit energy is essentially an extension of your willpower and ambition. It pretty much reacts in a way that best suits your ambition. In order to begin to get a feel for your spirit, you have to muster up a bunch of willpower, basically will it to materialize in some way. Once the beginnings of your spirit energy manifest themselves, we’ll be able to determine your spirit type and start placing you into the appropriate classes. However you want to do it is up to you, but try very hard to visualize your spirit energy leaving your body. Please spread out and work on this.”

The students began finding their own little corners and nooks to practice.

Hinata wasn’t quite sure what exactly anything meant, but he vaguely understood that he was ahead of the others, based on what Ukai had told him.

_ Visualize my spirit energy leaving my body _

Hinata closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He concentrated intensely on his own body, trying to pull at whatever thread of spirit energy he could find.

* * *

Yachi’s revelation came unusually. Surrounded by other people who were encountering far more success than she was, she began picking flowers from one of the bushes nearby to try and calm her nerves and achieve tranquility. She believed that inner peace was probably essential to bringing out spirit energy.

She closed her eyes, and began visualizing her spirit energy escaping her.

_ It’s no use!  _ She thought.  _ Nothing’s happening! _

She opened her eyes, looking for any sign that something had changed. She felt something on her hand. Looking down, she saw it immediately: one of the flowers she had picked had somehow grown into a full plant, wrapping its frail roots around her hand. Excitement rushed through her.

She darted towards Ukai, beaming with energy.

“Mr. Ukai-Kei, what does this mean? This plant sprouted in my hands, is that good?” she chirped.

“Hmm, interesting. There are two possibilities. I will explain further once everyone else had completed their activation.”

* * *

“WHOAH, WHAT WAS THAT!” someone called out in the distance, ruining his concentration. This routine continued, every time Hinata felt even slightly close to unlocking whatever he needed to, another student would loudly exclaim their success. Even his friends began to shout out their occurrences. First Yachi, then Lev. Now it seemed like Hinata was the only one who hadn’t achieved anything.

His blood began to boil, mixing rage with hopelessness.

_ Why am I always in last place? _

_ Why are they better than me? _

Pressure built up until, finally, it exploded at a fever pitch. In a wild flash of light, Hinata emitted a beam of pure energy that crumbled a rather large chunk of the pavement.

But as suddenly as the power had welled up, it quickly went dormant.

Hinata was confused. He looked around, completely blank after his violent release. 

* * *

“It seems everyone has finished!” Ukai called out. “Alright! Now, for the difficult part. We will now be having you fill out a packet in an attempt to determine what your Spirit Type is. There will be a lot of strange questions throughout, but please try to answer them as truthfully as possible.” Ukai cleared his throat. An assistant that had previously been absent appeared and began handing out packets to the students. “There are five main Spirit Types. I will be listing them in order from most common to least common: 

  * Augmentation: deals with the ability to modify the properties of your body or, rarely, other objects. It is the most common Spirit Type. Augmented enhancements differ from Mutated enhancements in that they do not alter the structure or anatomy of the affected part.
  * Mutation: deals with the ability to change the physical structure of your body, or rarely, other objects. It is the second most common Spirit Type, being only slightly less common than Augmentation. Mutation and Augmentation combined account for roughly 70% of all spirit energy users. Mutated Objects differ from Manipulated objects in that the user cannot control the mutated object after mutating it.
  * Manipulation: deals with the ability to control objects, elements, and rarely, people. It is one of the rarer spirit types, but is still relatively common. Manipulated elements and objects differ from Emitted elements and objects in that Manipulators are not capable of producing the element or object, and require a source of it on hand to be able to utilize it.
  * Emission: deals with the ability to expel spirit energy forcefully, most commonly in the form of an elemental force such as fire, water, or air. It is one of the rarest Spirit Types, and generally allows for more complex uses of Spirit Energy than most other Spirit Types. Emission differs from Manifestation in that it cannot create solid objects or complex constructions by itself.
  * Manifestation: deals with the ability to construct objects, creatures, and substances using Spirit Energy. It is the rarest of the standard Spirit Types, and also generally allows for the most complex usage of Spirit Energy among the five main Spirit Types. Manifested substances and objects differ from Emitted and Manipulated substances in that they can disappear and reappear upon the user’s will, as well as not being required to originate from a point of contact on the user’s body.
  * Specialization: includes numerous other unidentified or unique Spirit Types, less than 1% of Spirit users will have a Special Spirit Type. Specialized spirit types often have extremely complex and convoluted abilities that sometimes have mechanics that are impossible to easily classify.

“In addition to your primary Spirit Type, individuals will sometimes gain secondary affinities, allowing them to utilize minor applications of that Spirit Type to enhance their own ability.” Ukai finished.

Hinata felt overloaded with information, staring at the packet that was in front of him.

_ Hopefully I’ll get some answers. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finally begun establishing the basic mechanics of the power system, after all this setup :D


	22. Aladdin Sane (Interlude)

The packet consisted of a series of increasingly esoteric questions, many of which confused Hinata greatly. Particularly, they seemed to mainly focus on the sensations felt during the exercise they had performed, which confounded Hinata, mostly due to the fact that he had no idea how exactly his power had even manifested. There were a number of questions he was unable to answer, but there were some he was able to. For instance, based on the damage to the surrounding area, it was fairly obvious from what he understood that his spirit type was most likely emission. Still, he continued filling out the packet to the best of his ability.

After a while, Hinata reached the end of the packet. He noticed the others were still deep in their process of filling out the packet, so he quietly raised his hand and attempted to get the attention of Ukai.

Ukai noticed quickly, and walked over to Hinata, garnering a few brief glances but otherwise not interrupting the other students.

“You finished?” he whispered.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, there were a lot of questions I couldn’t answer.” Hinata handed over the packet.

“That’s fine. Your affinity is obvious anyways.” Hinata perked up at that, hoping his suspicions were correct. “You’re probably an emission type.” Ukai quickly skimmed through the packet. “Yeah, that seems to be correct.” Ukai cleared his throat. “Alright, then. You should head to Class 103, that’s where the other emitters should be. You’ll meet your specialized instructor there.”

Hinata nodded, taking one quick look at the group of students, who were still deep in thought. 

_ I guess I really did finish fast,  _ Hinata thought.

Hinata wandered the halls for a while, trying to find his way to Class 103. The halls were large and spacious, seemingly echoing the grand expectations that the prestigious academy upheld. Hinata still couldn’t believe he had made it into it, after all the peril he had endured during the exams. He knew he was entering a world completely unlike the one he had lived in all his life.

* * *

Kageyama waited begrudgingly in his room. He did not like waiting, especially for such mundane things as he was. There was something that burned on his mind.  _ Hinata.  _ The events that had transpired during the final phase of the entrance exam had intrigued him endlessly. It had seemed his suspicions were correct, to some degree. He had sensed something special within Hinata, and, much to the surprise of everyone, it manifested itself in the explosive display of power that terrified all who were present in that final moment. Even Kageyama had never witnessed such extreme power like that. The use of spirit energy has always been a refined art, but the way it poured from Hinata was crude and unrefined. Perhaps he could be trained further, into something of a proper rival. Kageyama caught himself smiling at this thought. He mentally slapped himself.

_ Knock Knock. _

“Hello? Kageyama Tobio? I’m here to ask you about your spirit type. May I come in?” a voice asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Kageyama grumbled. The individual appeared, a nondescript man who had a somewhat flighty demeanor.

“Alrighty.” the man said, walking carefully towards Kageyama. “Sorry if I seem anxious, the last kid was an… intense fellow.” the man chuckled nervously. “So, Kageyama, what can you tell me about your abilities?”

“Well, I am mainly Emission, but I rarely use it. I haven’t done much training in it. I was originally thought to be a Manipulator, so that’s where most of my training is. I would prefer to stay as a M-”

“You’ll be placed with the other Emitters then.” the man spoke. Kageyama wanted to raise issue for a moment, but he decided against it, he would wait later to speak to his instructor.

“What else can you tell me?” the man continued.

“Well, I specialize in using my needles to target peoples’ pressure points.”

“That requires a lot of precision, no?” 

“I seem to be gifted with extraordinary aim.” Kageyama stated. “Also- my instructors have believed that I may possess a tertiary affinity, though we haven’t been able to figure it out through my years of training.” 

“Oh, how interesting!” the man fiddled for a moment, writing the information down on his notepad. “What led them to believe this?”

“When I first used spirit energy, it caused some sort of convulsions in a few people near me.” Kageyama paused for a moment. “They thought it was some sort of Special spirit type at first, but during training I showed prowess in Manipulation and Emission, although they thought Manipulation fit better with the combat style I already had.”

“Well, that  _ is _ unusual.” the man cleared his throat. “Well, you’re the first student so far that possibly has a tertiary affinity. I look forward to seeing how you progress!” The man began turning around to head out the door.

“Is that all?” Kageyama asked, somewhat annoyed.

“Yes, that’ll be all for now. Class 103 is for Emission, you should head there.” the man exited the room shortly afterward, leaving a thoroughly disgruntled Kageyama grappling with the prospect of being ordered around. 

* * *

Hinata finally arrived at the classroom, after a few minutes of looking around. He wasn’t late, he knew, since he was the first one to finish his packets. He looked around, surveying his classmates. There looked to be two third years, one second year, and another first year, one of the ones who had been sent away since they already had proficiency in spirit energy. He forgot what the guy’s name was, but it was something foreign, he wasn’t sure. The guy looked a bit like Lev, actually.

“Oh, are you one of the new first years?” A deep voice greeted him, coming from one of the third years. He was a big guy, with a heavy set build that looked like it carried as much bulk as it could allow. “Sawamura Daichi.” he extended his hand. “I’m the class president for the third years. Oh, but I’m not the most talented or anything like that. Your name?” he asked.

“Oh, Hinata Shoyo.” Hinata shook his hand. Sawamura’s grip was strong.

“Well hopefully you’ll start putting on some weight!” Sawamura laughed. Hinata realized he probably looked like a shrimp to the older students, and even among the other first years, he was rather small.

“Not everyone is here yet, but I should introduce you to the rest of the class.” Sawamura pointed around, introducing HInata to the other classmates. “The delinquent looking one with the shaved head is Tanaka Ryunosuke, he’s a bit of a perv but he’s not as angry as he looks. The other scary looking guy is Azumane Asahi, who definitely is not as a scary as he looks, he’s actually a bit of a chickenshit.”

“Hey!” Asahi protested.

“Sorry, it’s true. Tanaka is a second year, Asahi is a third year like me.” Sawamura finally turned to the last one, the other first year. “This guys is Skee-yaa-evv Vah-sih-lee, I think, did I say it right?”

“Close enough.” The boy had a thick accent. It sounded like a heavier version of Lev’s actually.

“He’s a recommendation student from Sukov. He’s probably better than all of us combined.” Sawamura chuckled.

“It is possible.” Skyaev said, deadpan.

“Oh, perfect, it looks like another student is coming in!”

Hinata turned around to face the doorway, and his jovial mood instantly soured.

_ Kageyama. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short fluffy chapter, tried my best to get an update now. Been dealing with bad insomnia and anxiety. Hope y'all enjoy.


	23. A Little God In My Hands

“What are  _ you  _ doing here?” Hinata hissed. Kageyama frowned, but did not answer.

“Welcome to Class 103, my name is-” Daichi was cut off by a suddenly enthusiastic Vasily rushing up to Kageyama.

“Kageyama Tobio, it is an honor to meet you! I am glad we are placed in the same class together. My family and yours have worked together in the past.” Vasily shaked Kageyama’s hand vigorously.

“Is that so?” Kageyama mused. “I’m afraid my placement here is a mistake. I shouldn’t be here long.” Kageyama looked around. “There aren’t that many people around here.” Kageyama glanced briefly in the direction where Hinata was standing, catching his disdainful eye. Daichi collected himself and approached Kageyama once more.

“I am Sawamura Daichi. I’m the class president.” Daichi extended his hand. Kageyama seemed to look at the hand with disgust, declining to shake it. Kageyama seemed to only stick around Vasily.

“What the hell is his problem?” Daichi muttered.

“He’s an egomaniac.” Hinata spurted. “He thinks he’s the best.” 

“We’ll have to crush that somehow.” Daichi said.

Kageyama kept stealing glances at Hinata, but he noticed how sour the orange haired boy seemed to be towards him.  _ I saved him,  _ he thought. Kageyama didn’t understand the hostility. Sure, he had been cold to him in the past, but that was before he knew of HInata’s overwhelming strength. Hinata was different from the others, that much was certain. Kageyama considered going over to talk to him, but was interrupted by Vasily.

“So, how come you didn’t get in on recommendation?” Vasily asked.

“Oh, that.” Kageyama swallowed. “My family insists that every one of us get in the hard way. I suppose it’s so that we don’t get complacent like some other dynasties.” Kageyama flittered with his fingers.

“Oh.” Vasily looked around before whispering close. “The crop lately don’t seem to be that great, no?” Vasily snickered.

“No, I suppose.” Kageyama said, absent-mindedly.

Hinata was fuming. He resented Kageyama being placed in his class immensely, having to deal with the stupid, talented, handsome jerk who had everything in life handed to him,  _ every single day.  _ He shuddered angrily at the thought.

“So, tell me about yourself, Hinata.” Daichi placed a hand on Hinata’s shoulder.

“Uhh…” Hinata stuttered as the two began heading to a seat. “Well, I’m sure you can tell that I’m an emission type. Truth is, I don’t know much about all that. I’ve never been very gifted at scouting stuff, but uh…” Hinata stuttered.

“Well, what is it?” Daichi asked.

“According to the exam proctors, I did something insane during the final phase.” Hinata said, sheepishly.

“Insane how?” Daichi asked, intrigued.

“I’m not sure, I don’t remember what happened. All I know is that I somehow wiped out the combatants.” Hinata gulped. “Not that I mean to brag or anything!” he hesitated.

Daichi laughed. 

“Well, you’re certainly more interesting than you look!” Daichi said, his rich, deep voice piercing the tense atmosphere.

Hinata smiled.

“So what can you tell me about some of the classmates here?” Hinata asked.

“Well, Tanaka was a delinquent before he came to Magnolia academy. Super strong guy. He has a pretty simple ability though, he can emit shockwaves from parts of his body. Not like electricity, like vibrations, sort of. It might develop further, who knows, but he uses it pretty well. His blows pack a huge punch. He’s a nice guy, but he might come across as a bit intense. He has a soft spot for pretty girls, especially Kiyoko.” Daichi chuckled.

“Who’s Kiyoko?” Hinata asked.

“She’s a student in another class. Tanaka has been obsessed with her ever since he first saw her last year. He’s convinced he’s gonna marry her someday. Him and Nishinoya, those two.”

“Nishinoya?” 

“He’s another person in this class, though he’s always late. Small and angry guy. Insanely talented though. His ability is kinda complicated to explain right now, don’t wanna overwhelm you to be honest. There’s still a lot that has to be explained to you.” Daichi looked just past Hinata. “Ah, speak of the devil!”

A loud roar echoed throughout the roar. Hinata turned around to look at where it was coming from, which turned out to be a small boy, shorter than even him, with spiky brown hair with a little blonde plume on the front. The boy had a fiery presence. 

“So you finally showed up, Noya!” Azumane said. Hinata hadn’t heard him speak since he arrived but he had a gentle voice that betrayed his appearance.

“Sorry for being late, I just had a bunch of dates with hot women!” Nishinoya smiled.

“Don’t lie to the first years.” Daichi scolded. “We all know you overslept.”

“While that may or may not be true-” Nishinoya whistled out the door. “I was also helping one of the new first years find our classroom!” from behind Nishinoya came the familiar frame of Yachi.

Hinata sighed in relief. At least he would have one friend in his class. He began getting up to greet Yachi.

“Hi Yachi! So you’re an emission type too?” Hinata asked enthusiastically. Yachi already seemed a bit flustered.

“Yeah, that’s what teach said, at least. But it might change, he said too. It’s all so confusing.” Yachi bemoaned.

“Well hopefully you stay here.” Hinata said cheerfully.

“So you two know each other?” Nishinoya and Daichi both said.

“Yeah, we were together on a team in the first few parts of the exam.” Hinata replied.

“Oh I see! So she’s your girlfriend?” Nishinoya giggled. Daichi elbowed him in scorn, causing him to choke on his words.

Hinata and Yachi both blushed viciously. Hinata was about to deny it but Yachi spoke up first.

“OH NO NO NO GOSH NO ABSOLUTELY NOT, I COULD NEVER LIKE HINATA THAT WAY, OH GOSH NO!” she awkwardly laughed.

“Yeah, me and Yachi are just friends. I can assure you of that.” Hinata continued. His blush was now down to normal but Yachi still seemed thoroughly flustered. “Yachi, is Lev gonna be in here too?” Hinata asked.

“I- I uh, no I uh.” Yachi took a deep breath, calming herself. “He and I finished around the same time, he went off in a different direction, so I think not.”

“Oh, that’s a bummer.” Hinata said. “We should take our seats.”

Hinata and Yachi picked their seats, rather close together and near Daichi, who Hinata figured would be useful to have in easy communication. The guy seemed to be smart and nice, probably willing to help whenever needed.

The room door swung open, and a familiar voice echoed throughout the room before the door slammed shut.

“Good morning students, I am your instructor for this year, though I’m sure the second years and third years already know me well. Even the first years likely recognize me. I am Ittetsu Takeda, and I will be serving as the instructor this year for the emission type students. Is everyone here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a short fluffy chapter this week, next week will be more info dumps I think, some more worldbuilding too.


	24. Long Season

“I’ll ask again, is everyone here? Daichi?” Ittetsu repeated.

“Umm, I think we might be missing some more?” Daichi surveyed those who were in the room. “Yeah, we’re still missing Bokuto and Sugawara, and I think there might be more first years.” Daichi finished.

“Alright. I’ll speak to those two when they do arrive, and we’ll wait ten more minutes for any first years that might be lagging behind.” Ittetsu cleared his throat. “Now, I’ll take attendance for those of you that are here, starting with the third years.”

“Azumane Asahi.”

“Here.”

“Bok-” Ittetsu was cut off by an ear splitting roar coming from the doorway, which had just burst open.

“HEY HEY HEY!!!!!” the white haired guy roared. Ittetsu did not look amused.

“-uto Koutarou” Ittetsu continued unceremoniously.

“Good morning, good morning, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!” Bokuto went around fist bumping everyone in the class. “Good morning ‘teach! Sorry for being late for the new students, I totally had a good reason!” the guy oozed charisma and energy with every word he spoke. Hinata watched in awe.

“And the reason was..?” Ittetsu asked, deadpan.

“Uhhh, studying?” Bokuto seemed to be asking more than stating outright, as if he was fumbling for the correct answer.

“A likely story. Take your seat. I’m giving you the benefit of doubt. Where’s Sugawara?” Ittesu asked.

“She’s still doing her hair, something happened to it, it’s a mess last I saw.” Bokuto shrugged. “Girl stuff.”

“Alright. I’ll continue with the roll call.” Ittetsu continued. “Sawamura Daichi.”

“Here.”

“Sugawara Koshi?” there was silence. “Absent, for now,” Ittetsu continued. “On to the second years, Tanaka Ryunosuke?”

“Yo.”

“ _ Here. _ ” Ittetsu bemoaned. “Nishinoya Yuu?”

“Aye!”

“Why don’t you too ever do things the normal way?” Ittetsu complained. “Now, the first years, I’ll need to add your names to the roster. Are these all of you?”

Just then, a loud yet gentle knock came from the door. Ittetsu went to go greet whoever it was. 

“I’m so sorry if I’m late Mr. Teacher Sir, my packet took a really long time to fill out and I-” the boy was tripping over his words. He had spiky brown hair and a strong build. 

“It’s okay, you’re fine. We were just taking attendance. Your name?” Ittetsu asked.

“Sou, Sou Inuoka. I’m a first year!” the boy chimed.

“Good, go find a seat. I’ll be taking the other first years’ names now.” Ittetsu walked back to the front of the room. “Alright, you, orange boy, what’s your name?” 

“Hinata Shoyo, Sir!” 

“And the girl sitting next to you?” He asked.

“I am Yachi Hitoka!” she said.

“Good. Black haired kid in the back, what’s your name?” Ittetsu asked.

“Kageyama Tobio, Sir, of the-”

“Don’t care, the kid next to you?” he interjected.

“Skyaev Vasily.” 

“That’s a mouthful. And I already got Sou Inuoka, right? I think that’s all.” Ittetsu cleared his throat. “Alright, we’re gonna begin with a brief introduction to Emission, and then we’re gonna head to one of the gyms so your upperclassmen can demonstrate some of their abilities. Does that sound good to you?”

* * *

Lev was unsure what to make of the packet, in all honesty. There were a lot of questions, and from what he had experienced during the activation, he wasn’t sure how it all fit together. All that had happened when he tried to visualize his spirit energy was that his hands got some dust on them. It seemed so minor. He had doubts over whether it meant he was weak. But nonetheless he continued to answer the questions in the packet about what he had felt, what he had experienced, and strangely, even what he wanted. After about an hour of filling out the questions, he finally reached the end. It took him by surprise. He looked around, and it looked like others were struggling too, most hadn’t finished the packets.  _ Maybe I’m not so hopeless after all,  _ he thought. He noticed Hinata had already finished, as he was nowhere to be found. Yachi had just gotten up and was speaking with Ukai as he flipped through her packet. Lev slowly got up and began walking over to Ukai to hand in the packet.

“Umm, Mr. Ukai, I finished my packet.” Lev said, awkwardly.

“Just one moment while I finish up this girl’s packet.” Ukai flipped through the pages. “Yeah, looks like yours is Emission, miss. You’ll be heading to Class 103.” he turned over to Lev. “I can look at yours now, kid.”

“Do you want me to wait, Lev?” Yachi asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Lev said as he handed the packet to Ukai. It was a short while before Ukai came to a conclusion, hopefully one that would place Lev, Yachi, and Hinata together.

“Oh, this is interesting.” Ukai chuckled. “It would seem you’re a manifestation type, just like pops!”

“Manifestation?” Lev asked, sounding dejected. That definitely wasn’t what Yachi had just gotten.

“Yeah, kid. You’re pretty lucky, Manifestation is the rarest short of being a specialist. It’s tough as nails to train though, and you won’t have many classmates. Well, you can always hold out that you’ll have a secondary affinity if you want classmates. You’ll be heading to Class 105. Good Luck, you’ll be studying under one of the best.”

Lev didn’t know whether to feel happy or dejected. He was special, according to Ukai, but at what cost? He’d only be able to talk with his new friends in other classes or at lunch.

“So, you got Manifestation?” Yachi asked.

“Yeah.” Lev mumbled.

“That sucks, I was hoping we’d be able to stay together.” she said. “Well, we can still walk together for a little bit. Any idea what Hinata got?”

Lev’s thoughts flashed back to the final phase of the exam, Hinata’s terrifying burst of energy.

“No clue.” Lev lied.  _ He almost certainly got Emission,  _ he thought.

The two continued to walk along the halls until they finally arrived at Class 105, where Lev had to be.

“Well, this is goodbye, for now.” Yachi said. “This is your stop.” she smiled.

“Say hi to Hinata for me, Yachi.” Lev said, somewhat melancholy.

“Oh please, just call me Hitoka at this point.” she giggled.

“Oh. Bye… Hitoka.” Lev waved. She began walking away, further down the hall. Lev turned back to face the door. The room was totally quiet, he wondered who he would meet within. He turned the knob slowly, opening the door.

“Hello, my name is-”

The room was totally empty. Not even a single soul present.

_ Great,  _ Lev thought.  _ I’m gonna be a total loner. _

The room was fairly decrepit, it looked like it rarely got any students. There were dozens of old books that lined the shelves, but it looked like they hadn’t been read in years. The desks were organized in straight, orderly rows, with the chairs neatly tucked in, but it didn’t seem like they had been done recently. Lev whistled as he explored the room, periodically calling out asking if anyone was there, to no response.

“I wonder if there’s even a teacher here…” Lev mumbled. He was opening the drawers on the teacher’s desk, all of which were empty. Having been bent down at an awkward angle to look in these drawers, he stretched back upright and let out a loud sigh, before opening his eyes again, staring straight at the horrifying sight on the surface of the table. A severed head, staring straight at him.

Lev let out a loud shriek of horror. The head shrieked back at him, before the scream turned into a chuckle. The old man head began rising, and a body attached to it began materializing out of thin air, before a complete person climbed seemingly out of the desk, and plopped itself beside Lev. The person was an old man, one who seemed thoroughly amused by Lev’s horror.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Lev screamed.

“Hey, hey, watch your language, youngster. I’m your elder.” the old man lectured, still smiling.

“WHO ARE YOU, YOU CREEP!?” Lev shrieked, still terrified.

“Now, is that any way to speak to the headmaster of Magnolia Academy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :DDDDDDD


	25. Vicious

“I’m sorry, what?” Lev was baffled.

“Y’heard, youngster, I’m the headmaster of this here Academy you’re standin’ in.” the man coughed a bit. “Name’s Ukai Ikkei, but you’ll call me Mr. Ukai. I’m also gonna be teaching ya.”

Lev was still in a state of shock. “How did you-”

“Wouldn’t-cha like to know, huh?” Mr. Ukai paced around for a bit. “We rarely ever have any manifestation types, so I pretty much take care of ‘em when they pop up. We ‘aven’t had one in several years now.” Mr. Ukai laughed. “So I guess that makes ya a bit special!”

Lev was still struggling to wrap his head around this. “You’re you and I have the same spirit types… and that’s how you did that… _ that? _” Lev stammered.

“Yes’ndeed. But ya won’t be doin that soon, or maybe ever. Ev’n the basics of Manifestation are tough as nails, so ya’s gonna be trained to the bone, young’n.” Mr. Ukai explained. “I don’t s’pose we’re gonna get another student so I right as well should start explaining the basics to ya. Go sit down.” Mr. Ukai pointed to one of the dusty desks, instructing Lev to sit there. Just as he was about to take a seat, the door burst open. A tall, odd-haired guy came rushing in loudly.], it was that kid who was with Kageyama.

“Well I’ll be damned!” Mr. Ukai laughed. “Two of ya?”

“I’m so sorry if I was late, my name is Koganegawa Kanji, I’m here for manifestation, you are the teacher?” Koganegawa asked, out of breath.

“I was just explaining to Haiba ‘ere ‘bout how rare manifestation types are. Damn, two of ya? I’ll have my hands full ‘ere. Take a seat, youngster.” Ukai pointed to the seat next to Lev.

“So, as I was going to say, the basics of manifestation are pretty complicated compared to other spirit types, save f’r specialist types. Y’see here because Manifestation by itself doesn’t suit itself to combat all too well. Tell me, Sukov boy, if you could make something, anything, what could you make?”

“Uh, probably a sword that could cut through anything.” Lev shrugged.

“Ah, but y’see, ya can’t do that. Manifestation only allows you to create things that _ can _exist. It won’t let ya make a sword that can cut through anything, ya gotta have limits. So ya could make a sword that cuts through, say most things. But then again, you could just buy thems ya-self.” Mr. Ukai fiddled with his hands. “So… the main purpose of manifestation is through this: ya make insanely specific items with their own sets of rules and powers, at least, that’s how it works for most of ya. Some people like me, who’r insanely strong, can bend all sorts of rules, if ya know how to get around it. The key to being an effective manifester is to figure our all sorts’f loopholes. Ya also gotta be a master of strategy.”

“So how complicated are we talking? Chess? Coding?” Lev asked.

“Good question. These ‘ere spirit types are a whole system. If ya could imagine,” Mr. Ukai created a flash of light, and suddenly, what looked like a warp in space appeared between his two hands. “You’re creatin’ a whole new system within a system.”

Kanji and Lev both audibly gasped from confusion.

“But that’s not what we’s gonna focus on for the first few months, boys. We’re gonna make sure y’all can even manifest anything before we work on developing yer abilities.”

  
  


* * *

“Alright, now that pretty much everyone is here, I’m gonna begin my introduction to Emission.” 

Ittetsu cleared his throat. 

“Emission is the second rarest of the main five spirit types, and with that, comes great power, but of course, to gain this power, it requires a great deal of mastery. Emission may be powerful, but with its rarity, comes a lot of complex mechanics. There are simple emission techniques, such as the basic emission of power, but the best and most powerful techniques use complex sets of rules and mechanics, second only to Manifestation.” 

Ittetsu paced a bit.

“Secondly, Emission, unlike other spirit types, has its own unique rules as well. For one, more so than any other spirit type, your ability to emit spirit energy is directly tied to your emotional state. Intense emotions will strengthen your spirit energy, but will also reduce your ability to refine it, so controlling your emotions will be essential to mastery of Emission techniques. In addition, unlike most other Spirit Types, Emission is reliant on having a steady and large reserve of spirit energy. Emission and Manifestation are the only two of the main Spirit Types that use up Spirit Energy when using techniques. As you might guess, using up too much Spirit Energy has dire consequences, such as fatigue, coma, and, in using all of it up, death. Of course, there are many biological barriers to using up all your spirit energy, but Emission types must be the most aware of this, because once you run low on Spirit Energy, your techniques will no longer function properly.”

“Fortunately, because Emission is tied so closely to your emotions, there are a few techniques that can be used by us to either temporarily replenish Spirit Energy or reduce the rates at which we use it. These are all things you will learn under my and your upperclassmen’s guidance. For the time being, we will focus on theory and increasing your own ability to control your Spirit Energy. Any questions?” Ittetsu finished.

Multiple hands rose up.

Ittetsu chuckled a bit. He probably should’ve known there would be so many questions.

* * *

After all the questions had been answered, Ittetsu decided it was time to end the class for today.

“Alright, now that the questions have been answered, we’re gonna head to one of the gyms tomorrow so we can have some practical presentations. Make sure to rest up for that.” Ittetsu announced.

Hinata got excited upon hearing this, he couldn’t wait to learn more about spirit energy and spirit types and everything he could do with them. He turned to his side, wanting to ask Lev something.

“Hey L-” He turned, realizing Lev wasn’t there. _ Oh, _he thought. He had forgotten Lev wouldn’t be in this class with him. It left him feeling a bit downtrodden. 

The rest of the day progressed uneventfully, being pretty much the same as a normal high school. Thankfully, Hinata did have a few classes with both Yachi and Lev in them, but he noticed there were also other students who weren’t in the Scouting programs in his classes. He didn’t really talk to him, but it made him realize there were people involved in Scouting who weren’t necessarily Scouts themselves. The day passed by slowly, he talked with Lev and Yachi, chatting about the events of the day and the things he had learned. Hinata grew excited when he learned about Manifestation and how cool it was, and Lev likewise grew excited about all the classmates HInata and Yachi had. By the time lunch had come around, Hinata and the group were beginning to finally feel acquainted with their new school.

* * *

“So Kageyama, what do you think about the other first years? I mean the non-recommendation ones, of course.” Vasily asked.

“I don’t really care.” Kageyama said. 

“Well, you’re a stoic one.” Vasily laughed. “Can’t say I blame you, though, they all seem to be a rather weak bunch. Especially that tangerine.”

Anger boiled up in Kageyama from nowhere. Acting purely out of rage, he swiftly grabbed Vasily by the collar and pushed him up against the wall.

“Whoah, what did I say?” Vasily said, cooly.

Kageyama didn’t hear reason, and anger continued to well up as he began beating Vasily against the wall, landing punch after punch to his gut.

The scuffle had to be broken up by staff. He was questioned by staff afterward, but he couldn’t tell them for sure why he had lost control. He didn’t quite understand it himself.


	26. Learning

After much new information to take in, the day had finally ended for Hinata. He arrived at the dorm room mentally exhausted from all the events of the day. From his class on emission, to the regular academics, Hinata was positively on sensory overload. Lev was already in the room, along with Rin and Goshiki. 

“How’d you guys get here so quickly?” Hinata asked.

“I guess I was just quick.” Lev shrugged. He exhaled wearily. “I am totally burned out. I knew this school would be tough, but damn, I didn’t expect to be this worn after only one day!”

“Yeah, I hear ya.” Goshiki bemoaned. “The teacher for augmentation had us get straight into it, with combat exercises, it was exhausting.”

“So your spirit type is Augmentation? That’s cool, what’s it like?” Hinata asked.

“It’s not very glamorous. For me, at least, I’m just a little stronger.” Goshiki continued. “I don’t know how much cool stuff can be done with Augmentation compared to other types.”

“That’s still pretty cool. By the way,” Hinata seemed to hush a bit. “Why exactly are you sleeping in the boy’s dorms?”

  
  


Goshiki looked pale for a moment before lightening up. 

“Well, since we’re gonna be spending time together throughout the year, I might as well tell you.” Goshiki seemed to tense up for a moment, seeming to momentarily second guess what she was about to say. “You see, I was born a boy…”

Hinata seemed confused. Lev seemed to understand it a bit but didn’t speak.

“But, you’re a girl, aren’t you?” Hinata asked, still puzzled.

Goshiki laughed, easing the tension.

“She’s trans.” Rin interrupted.

“Trans?” Hinata asked, now even more confused. “What does that mean.”

“Well,” Goshiki began. “I was born a boy, with boy parts, but as I grew up…” Goshiki began choking on her words a bit. “I started feeling like I was in the wrong body, sort of. I wanted to be a girl, so I started dressing like a girl, trying to talk like one, stuff like that.”

‘Well you did a good job, you don’t sound or look like a boy at all!” HInata sputtered. Lev slapped him in the head.

“Don’t say that, idiot!” Lev whispered.

Goshiki laughed.

“No, it’s alright, I’ll take it as a compliment!” she said.

There was a brief moment of silence between the group. HInata seemed to be thinking about something. Finally, he spoke.

“But, if you’re a girl now, why did they put you with us?” Hinata asked. “Girls can’t sleep with boys, that’s not proper!” he blushed.

“Well, you see…” Goshiki trailed off, growing more tense. “My parents don’t really approve of me.” she seemed to grow melancholy at this.

“What do you mean?” HInata asked.

“They still think of me as their son, they don’t want me to be a girl.” Goshiki said.

“That’s not…” Hinata was cut off by Lev.

“I think we should let this go for today.” Lev suggested.

“No, I mean it’s fine if you wanna ask questions, I-” Goshiki stuttered

“No, I think it’s best to give you some distance, you seem to be starting to get a little emotional about it.” Lev smiled. “Besides, we’re gonna have plenty of time to get to know each other.”

Hinata smiled at that, and began studying, trying to understand the material he had learned today better.

* * *

Kageyama was unceremoniously spending the end of his first day at Magnolia Academy in the disciplinary office, an expected outcome after his skirmish with Vasily. The two were now cold towards each other as they sat in the headmaster’s office.

“Can one of ya tell me exactly why this scuffle occurred?” the man asked.

“I don’t really know, sir, he just attacked me, we were just talking and all of a sudden-” Vasily was interrupted by a sharp outburst of aggression from Kageyama, but Kageyama managed to stop himself and sink back into his seat.

“What exactly did he do t’piss ya off that much?” the headmaster asked Kageyama. Kageyama ground his teeth, refusing to answer the question. 

A few moments passed by, the headmaster waiting for some sort of answer or indication, but none arrived. He spent a few moments pacing around his desk. He turned away from them before speaking.

“We’ve a policy on fights like ya’s. I could expel ya two right now.” 

The two began to panic, instantly nullifying the hostile atmosphere between the two of them that had taken root prior. Kageyama instantly began to fill with fear, the prospect of being the only Kageyama family member to not graduate from Magnolia Academy filling him with shame. Vasily was also shaking in his seat.

“You can’t do that, I mean- my family- I-” Vasily stuttered before getting cut off. The headmaster appeared to warp to the area immediately behind where the two were sat, grabbing Vasily harshly by the shoulder.

“Now I know damn well ya know better than to tell me what’s I can and cannot do.” He spoke aggressively, voice dripping with anger. “Tongue like that ain’t gonna make me any kinder towards ya.” the headmaster let go of Vasily. “Now, I ain’t gonna expel ya’s.” the headmaster explained. “The way we handle disputes here is on the battlefield. You two are gonna fight in a proper match, the Magnolia way. Y’hear?”

The two looked at each other with confusion. Kageyama spoke first.

“We’re gonna fight?” Kageyama asked. “An official match?”

“Yup!” the headmaster chirped. “I’ll set up a match for this Friday.” the headmaster cleared his throat. “I’m sure ya two know that ya record continues here. This match will count towards ya stats. We don’t participate in many tournaments, y’see, to preserve the secret of Spirit Energy, Magic, whatever ya wanna call it. So, we count on y’all youngins getting into stupid fights to maintain your stats. There are a few school tournaments and some friendlys we have with some schools in the farlands…”

There was new info to take in for Kageyama.

“Schools from the farlands? There are schools there?” Kageyama asked.

“Ya ask a lot of questions for a delinquent who picks fights.” the headmaster scoffed. “That’s besides tha point. Your fight will be friday. Ya can use whatever spirit stuff ya already know and such. Try not to get into any scuffles before then, else I will expel ya. You two are dismissed now.” the headmaster motioned for them to go away. The two were momentarily stunned before he yelled at them. “Go ‘way before I up and expel ya!”

* * *

Hinata finished studying at about 10:00 PM, having been exhausted by the day’s events.

“What time are you guys gonna go to bed?” Hinata asked. Rin was already passed out on his bunk, while Goshiki and Lev were also finishing with their work.

“I mean, I’m almost done. We can go to sleep if you want.” Lev said, looking at Goshiki.

“Yeah, what he said.” Goshiki mimed.

“Okay, cool, because…” Hinata yawned. “...I’m getting tired.” he continued,

Lev turned to the lights to flick the off and the three began getting into bed.

“Goodnight everyone!” Hinata chirped.

After that, Hinata slowly drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this update took so long. I had this chapter mostly written but couldn't figure out where I wanted it to end. Also I've been busy with rl stuff too, so things might slow for a while.


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